Love Unites Us All
by yingyangmaster
Summary: With Kion and Fuli finally united in marriage, life in the Pridelands couldn't get any better. But when a particular rogue Lion that's connected with Simba and Nala's past suddenly resurfaces, Kion finds his life and marriage hanging in the balance as the rogue seeks possession over one of his family members. Meanwhile, Vitani lands herself in an unexpected romantic relationship.
1. Surprises

_**Love Unites Us All**_

 **Chapter 1: Surprises**

 **A/n: Hey, guys! This is just a quick author's note, I usually begin the first chapter of a story that's within the K rating, but I think I'm gonna have to start this one with a T rating due to a rather suggestive scene in the first few paragraphs hehe. Rest of the Author's Note will be at the end of the chapter.**

Raindrops fell steadily down from a dark and foreboding sky, providing the vast lands of the Pridelands with the much-needed rainwater. The past few weeks have been rather dismal and taxing for animals living in the vast savanna, as the long summer heatwave kicked in and dried up most of the water-holes that were crucial for all the animals' survival. But the early-morning shower that poured over the savanna came to as a surprise for the animals, as it was speculated that there won't be any rain till the next couple of months. But then again, who were they to question the works of Mother Nature?

As the downpour continued, the rain slowly replenished the dried-up waterholes with fresh water, attracting all the thirsty animals from their respective habitats. Predators and prey; leopards and servals, gazelles, oryxes and zebras, all gathered side-by-side in the rain around the water-holes to get a much-needed drink. This was a display of one of the many beauties of the Circle of Life; the prey animals can coexist peacefully and be in close proximity with the predator animals without fear whenever they weren't hunting, there was a genuine bond between the two classes of animals.

While most of the Pridelands' animals were away from their homes, a particular Cheetah was still curled up in a small den somewhere in the middle of Pridelands, a peaceful smile graced her lips while she's still in the midst of her slumber.

Fuli stirred in her sleep when she felt the soft fur of another animal lightly brushed against her golden-yellow pelt. "Rise and shine, honey," this other animal breathed into her ear in a rather husky voice.

The Cheetah lifted an eyelid and saw Kion towering just above her with a rather naughty smile spread across his muzzle. Fuli let out a brief chuckle and shifted slightly when her Lion went over gently placed his body over hers. "You're up early," she smiled, lifting a paw to caress her mate's lush mane that was now above her head.

"Early? It's been three hours since sunrise!" Kion chuckled, burying his muzzle against the nape of her neck and taking in her sweet scent. "You must really be worn out from our err... late-night activities..."

The two shared a mischievous grin at the memory of their rather intimate 'activities' that they engaged in last night just before they retreated into their slumbers. "Oh, you have no idea how unbelievably exhausting it was for me," she retorted, throwing a smirk at him.

Despite what she had said, Fuli personally found last night to be one of the most enjoyable nights she ever had. The dull, throbbing pain in her lower abdomen was a testament to that. It wasn't their first time committing such a sacred act, they have been doing it since they got married about three months ago.

The act itself was so primal, yet so pure and it came quite naturally for the young couple, both Lion and Cheetah aren't shy to admit that. Yet, despite these 'acts' being legally committed in the course of their marriage, questions have arose from the other animals as to whether the young couple would be able to produce any results, given the obvious difference of their species. But the strong-willed, inter-species couple weren't about to let a few questions of doubt harm the loving relationship that they shared with each other.

"You know, I overheard our lovely aardvark neighbors mention that 'the one' in the morning is actually much more... effective and... pleasurable than 'the one' at night. I wonder how true is that..." Kion whispered, his breath spilled over the side of her ear while his left paw began roaming around her underbelly.

Fuli let out a soft whimper when she felt her mate's paw explore her every turn and every curve of her body. "Well... let's find out, then," she whispered back, trying desperately to stifle a moan.

Both felines let out a lustful giggle as Kion began licking the fur around the back of Fuli's neck and readjusting his body at the same time. "You sure you're up for this?" Fuli asked, looking behind to throw a lustful gaze towards her Lion.

Kion returned an assuring smile at her. "Oh, I'm ready... As ready as I'll ever-"

"MUMMY! DADDY! Are you two playing leap-frog?"

"Hevi my Kebisa!" Kion exclaimed in a panic before rolling off from Fuli in less than a fraction of a second.

Both Lion and Cheetah flashed nervous smiles towards a male Lion cub, who sported a pelt of bright orange and a cream-colored underbelly, had just entered the couple's personal quarters of the den.

"Oops. I'm sorry I didn't mean to disturb-" the cub shyly began in his squeaky, boyish voice when he saw both Lion and Cheetah blushing heavily under their fur.

"No, no it's okay, Mwamba. Your mum and I were just... err... playing... leap-frog together..." Kion trailed off in his poorly-crafted explanation, earning him a "Seriously?" glare from Fuli.

"Oooh! In that case, can I join in too?" The young cub named Mwamba innocently cried out with enthusiasm, making the situation a whole lot more awkward for the young couple.

"Err... maybe next time, eh, son?" Kion promptly replied and began playfully ruffling a paw around the cub's bare head that has yet to sport a fully-grown mane.

"Oh... well, okay then," he replied, his ears folded back with disappointment.

Both Kion and Fuli couldn't help but smile at the cub, he actually looked quite adorable in his disheartened state. Mwamba wasn't actually a product of their marriage; Fuli had actually found him wandering alone in the hostile territories of the Backlands, about eight miles away from the Pridelands a couple of months ago .

The young, scrawny cub was only a few weeks old when Fuli found him. At first, the Cheetah's natural instincts told her to find the cub's parents and carry on with her hunt, but after searching high and low, and eventually convinced that the infant was in fact alone, she decided to take him in and raise him together with her mate. Of course, the Lions of Pride Rock were more than excited to welcome little Mwamba into the Pride when Fuli first carried him by his scruff into the Lair, but the one Lion that was particularly ecstatic about the cub's arrival was none other than Kion.

That very day when Mwamba entered the Lair and into his life, that was the day when he felt his life was complete. He was only three weeks into his marriage with Fuli and he was already blessed with a beautiful cub to call his son. He didn't care that Mwamba wasn't his biological offspring, he had pledged to himself that he'd do his very best to make sure the young cub would grow up to be a powerful Lion that would one day be the leader of his own pride. But Kion had another reason to be overjoyed in being able to raise Mwamba as his step-father.

While it was true that he pledged a never-ending loyalty to uphold his matrimony with Fuli, he, like most of the other animals, had his own doubts whether they could conceive a child of their own together. But with Mwamba's arrival, he could finally put aside those doubts and focus on being a parent for the young cub. And so, as the months passed by, Mwamba himself had grown used to being raised by his step-parents.

"Mummy, mummy, I thought we're supposed to visit Simba and Nala at Pride Rock today!" The young cub exclaimed, giddily jumping up and down at the spot.

Fuli chuckled and gave her son a loving nuzzle. "Yes, dear, we know. But we can't go right now, it's still raining outside."

"Awww... then what're we gonna do until the rain stops?"

"Hey, I got an idea, kiddo!" Kion chimed in. "Why don't you get that baobab fruit in the back and we can have a little game of indoor "Baobab Ball" till the rain stops?"

"Great idea, Dad! I'll get the baobab fruit, but I'm gonna beat you this time, you'll see!" Mwamba exclaimed before scampering away, as his parents watched him go off with smiles on their muzzles.

"I err... I suppose we have to continue where we left off... tonight?" Kion began once he was sure his son was out of ear-shot.

Fuli let out a small chuckle as her mate sauntered over and nuzzled affectionately against her side. "Tonight it is," she whispered into his ear, giving him a slow lick on his muzzle. Kion smirked at her before walking ahead to join his son.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

The family of three eventually left their den a few minutes later as the rain had stopped sooner than they expected. They took their time as they strolled through the vast meadow on the way to Pride Rock, admiring the Sprawling Duneweeds that bloomed after the rain.

"Daddy, you think grandfather Simba would like to play Baobab Ball with us? Or is he too old to be playing games like this?" Mwamba asked while walking between his parents.

"Well, your grandfather may be old, but I don't think he's that old to turn down a game of Baobab Ball," Kion smiled at his step-son. "But, if you want to play, you'll have to find a new Baobab fruit since we left ours behind at the den."

"On it, Dad!" The young cub exclaimed before rushing ahead towards a cluster of Baobab trees a few feet in the distance.

His step-parents smiled as they watched him scamper away towards the trees. "You still haven't outgrown that baobab game of yours, huh?" Fuli asked, flashing a teasing grin towards her mate.

"Nope, not in a million years," Kion smirked at her. "You know, even Simba used to play that game with Nala when they were cubs, I don't see why you shouldn't be joining us whenever Mwamba and I play Baobab ball."

"Nah, that's okay... I still think it's a rather... childish game to play... especially if you're a Lion prince and the fierce leader of the Lion Guard."

"Nah, not for this Lion Prince," Kion grinned with a laugh. "And anyways, the rest of the Guard are always delighted to have a match with with me, except you of course."

Fuli chuckled and gave him a teasing nudge. They strolled ahead through the flowers as Kion kept a watchful eye on Mwamba, who was standing at the base of a Baobab tree. "Be careful when you're climbing that tree, son!" He shouted his warning.

He watched as the young cub sprang onto the tree bark and used his claws to carefully make his way up to the highest branch.

"Wow! Our boy has become quite the tree-climber, eh?" Kion commented with a chuckle as he .

That was when he noticed his mate had stopped walking and was now staring towards the ground, the confused look on her face instantly told him that she was somehow disoriented. "Fuli, honey, you okay?" He asked with genuine concern as he walked back towards her.

Fuli began blinking rapidly and her breathing had steadily intensified. She struggled to even look at her concerned mate as her vision slowly became distorted. "I... I don't know, Kion, I... I don't know... what's... going..."

"FULI!"

"MUM!"

The last thing she saw was Kion and Mwamba rushing hurriedly towards her, panic instilled in their voices before her legs gave way and she eventually collapsed onto the ground, as her vision slowly succumbed into eternal darkness.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Thanks for reading this first chapter of the sequel guys! Hope you'll continue with your kind support as you all did with Forbidden Love :) Please leave a review on your thoughts on this chapter and I wish you all a joyous day ahead! :D**

 **-yingyangmaster**


	2. Expecting the Unexpected

**Chapter 2: Expecting the Unexpected**

"Look, I think she's waking up!"

"How did this happen?"

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Don't worry, son. Your mum's strong, I'm sure she'll be okay."

Fuli let out a low groan as she strenuously tried to lift her eyelids. Her vision was completely blurred and the heaviness in her head made it feel like she had just woken up from a nap that lasted an entire year. Through her hazy vision, she instantly noticed that two things were amiss. One, she was no longer in the vast fields that surrounded Pride Rock but rather, she found herself laying weakly on the ground inside the den of Pride Rock itself. How and when she ended up there was a complete mystery for her. Two, she noticed that the Lions of Pride Rock, along with the rest of the Guard, were staring intently at her with looks of concern. They all looked at her as if a third eye had grown in the middle of her forehead or something...

"Fuli? Fuli, can you hear me?"

Her ears pricked up when she recognized her mate's anxious voice amongst the low chattering and murmuring going on in the background. "Kion? Kion, what's going on?" She weakly asked, squinting her eyes as she struggled to make out the figure that was standing in front of her.

After rapidly fluttering her eyelids, her vision slowly cleared and she could eventually make out all the faces that were currently staring at her, though her vision remained slightly blurred. She could see Kion standing just inches away from her while Simba and Nala were behind him, along with Kiara, Kovu and Hasina, their first-born daughter who was standing next to Mwamba. She also spotted Bunga, Beshte and Ono, who were standing amongst the other Lionesses, all of them throwing her looks of pity and concern.

"Kion... Kion what happened?" She struggled to say her words in her confused state. "Why am I... what just happened... how did I end up in the den?"

Kion lowered his head to gently nuzzle against her cheek. "You collapsed on the way here, honey. I had to run ahead with Mwamba and get some of the Lionesses to help carry you here. You don't have to worry, okay? Vitani's on the way to fetch Rafiki, he'll know what to do," he informed her, trying to remain calm as he did.

While she was glad that help was on the way, Fuli couldn't bear to see her mate all tensed up and anxious about her, so she managed to flash him a small smile before giving him an assuring lick to the side of his muzzle. "Thanks for that, Kion. And... I know I'll be fine... as long as you're by my side," she softly purred with a smile.

Nala stepped forth closer towards her. "How are you feeling, Fuli?" She asked softly.

"Err... I'm still a little dizzy in the head... but I think I'll be fine. Thank you for asking, Nala," Fuli said, struggling to muster a smile. She then tried to get off from her side to stand up, but her legs were still limp and she collapsed onto the ground again.

"Whoah, take it easy there, Fuli." Simba warned, approaching her. "I think you should lie still and not move around too much until Rafiki gets here."

Fuli let out a low groan. As a Cheetah, lying still and not doing anything was something she considered as the most unbearable form of torture for her. "Well... I guess I don't really have much of a choice."

"Aunt Fuli! Aunt Fuli! Will you be okay?"

Fuli looked up to see Hasina and her son scampering side-by-side towards her before the two lion cubs snuggled against her muzzle. She let out a soft chuckle at the affection the young ones were giving her. "Don't worry about me, Hasina, I'm sure I'll be fine," she smiled at the young Lioness.

"You had me and Daddy worried for you just now," Mwamba said, rubbing his nose against his mother's side. "Why'd you fall like that, Mum?"

"Well... to be honest, Mwamba, I really have no idea why I fell like that," she calmly replied, reaching out a paw to playfully ruffle her son's head. "Maybe I was just too tired, I'm sure it's nothing serious."

"Hey, aunt Fuli? When you're all better again, can you give Mwamba and I a ride on your back and dash across the Pridelands like you did last week?" Hasina asked, giggling as she began climbing around the Cheetah's body.

Fuli let out a chuckle and was about to respond to the young cub when Kiara and Kovu decided that their daughter was bothering the exhausted Cheetah by climbing all around her body.

"Okay, Hasina, that's enough. Aunt Fuli needs a rest now," Kiara gently told her as she picked up her hyperactive daughter by the scruff.

"Aww, come on, Mum!" Hasina pouted, making a sour face as she dangled from her mother's jaw.

Eventhough Fuli was close with the young Lionss, she felt somewhat relieved when Kiara pulled her away from her, she felt too exhausted to have the young cubs climbing all over her body at the moment. But the crestfallen look on her niece's muzzle made her feel slightly guilty, so she decided to strike a deal with her to cheer her up.

"Don't worry, Hasina. I promise I'll give you and my son a long ride on my across the Pridelands once I get better," she said, smiling at the young cub. "But in the meantime, why don't you and Mwamba play a game of Baobab Ball together at that corner over there?"

"Okay! I guess beating Mwamba in Baobab Ball is much better than standing around here and doing nothing," Hasina replied once her mother settled her onto the ground.

"Hey! I beat you in Baobab Ball the last time!" Mwamba argued, frowning at the smirking female cub.

"That's because I gave you a chance."

"Na-ah! I beat you that day fair and square!"

"Yeah? Well, let's see if you can beat me again this time."

"You're on!"

"Okay. Race you there!"

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!"

The adults in the den couldn't help but smile at the sight of the two cubs racing each other towards the Baobab fruit at the farthest corner of the den.

"They're quite the inseparable pair aren't they?" Kovu commented with a grin.

Everyone's attention were shifted towards the den's opening when Vitani rushed through it while clenching a few strands of some strange herbs between her jaws.

"Hey, I came here as fast as I could," she panted, putting the herbs on the ground just inches away from Fuli's mouth. "Rafiki's on the way up here, but he's asked you to eat these herbs before he arrives. And judging by the foul taste of it, I don't think you'll like enjoy eating it very much."

Fuli took one sniff at the herbs and cringed. Vitani wasn't joking when she described the foul nature of the plant, just smelling it was enough to put her off, what more if she were to eat it. "Ugh... can this day get any worse?" She sighed before munching on the herbs.

A few minutes later, Rafiki finally entered through the den's entrance, carrying his unique wooden staff by his side. "Ah, Rafiki! I'm so glad you could make it!" Kion almost cried out as he greeted the old mandrill.

"De pleasure iz all mine!" Rafiki replied in his distinct African accent. "Now, where iz de patient?"

"Over here..."

The old shaman turned around to see Fuli lying on her side and weakly calling out to him. "Goodness! Now dis iz a very unusual sight to see! I've never seen de fastest animal in de Pridelands lying on de ground and not moving at all! Hohoho!" He humorously boomed, causing everyone in the den, except Fuli that is, to grin at his demeanor.

Fuli let out an annoyed grunt and rolled her eyes. She already had a strong dislike for monkeys and baboons, and by the looks of it, she'll have to add old, shamanistic mandrills that carried wooden staffs and talk with thick African accents to the list.

"Now, jokes aside. Tell me, Fuli, what iz it dat exactly happened?" Rafiki finally said in a more serious tone.

"Well... let's see. My family and I were all walking towards Pride Rock... and then I just collapsed onto the ground and passed out."

Rafiki stared at her with pure astonishment. "Wait. You mean you passed out for no reason?"

Fuli simply shrugged. "By the looks of it, yeah."

Rafiki frowned and began fidgeting with his beard (he liked to pretend that his beard was much longer and stragglier), deep in thought. "Hmmmm..."

He went closer to the Cheetah and held one of her forelegs in his hand. He then began moving it back and forth in a rather strange manner, causing Fuli to wonder if the old mandrill was doing this to come up with a diagnosis, or if he was just being senile. He eventually put down her foreleg before proceeding to the same thing with one of her hindlegs this time.

"Hmmm... now dis iz odd... the joints in your legs are elastic and flexible!" He noted.

The other Lions exchanged questioning glances at each other when he pointed out his observation.

"Err... Rafiki? I'm a Cheetah and I run a lot, so... I think the joints in my legs are supposed to be like that." Fuli said, slowly getting impatient with him.

"Yes, I know that. But I'm saying that your joints have become more elastic and flexible than usual..."

He frowned and twirled his beard for a few more moments before his face brightened as he finally came to a realization.

"Hoho! I get it now! You fainting for no reason, and your joints becoming more flexible than usual... they're all signs that your body is preparing itself for de extra load you'll be carrying with you for the next few months!"

Murmurs and whispers began spreading about within the den, though Fuli seemed to be the only one who still couldn't comprehend what was actually going on.

"Wait, I don't understand. What 'extra load' are you talking about, Rafiki?" Fuli asked, silently wishing that the old shaman would just get to the point instead of talking in riddles.

Rafiki simply gave her a warm smile and took one of her paws. "De extra load, that you'll be carrying... inside here." Her eyes widened when he gently guided her paw before eventually resting it on her stomach.

Kion's jaw dropped as he stared at the mandrill in disbelief. "Wait, hold on. Are you... are you saying that... Fuli..."

He paused to swallow the lump in his throat.

"... is pregnant?"

Rafiki chuckled, enjoying the look of bewilderment on Kion's face. "Yes, Kion. That's exactly what I'm saying. Fuli is indeed pregnant."

A deafening silence erupted throughout the den as everyone was left aghast by this piece of information.

"Fuli..." Kion almost cried out as he rushed towards his mate and passionately nuzzled against the underside of her muzzle.

The other Lions and the rest of the Guard erupted in cheers and "aww's", as the inter-species couple snuggled affectionately with each other, tears of joy slowly streaming down from both their eyes.

"Hey, congratulations you two!"

"Wow Kion, you're finally having your very own biological kid!"

"Congratulations, son. Your mum and I are very happy for you..."

"I'm so happy for you, baby brother!"

In the midst of all the congratulations and well-wishes, Kion and Fuli could only smile and hold each other tighter in their embrace.

"I love you." He whispered into her ear, gently caressing the fur on her stomach, as she buried her muzzle deeper against his brilliant-red mane.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :) As usual new follows, favorites and reviews are always appreciated! See you guys in the next chapter :D**

 **P/S: My prayers and thoughts go out to everyone affected by the Manchester Attacks. May the souls of the innocents that were killed during these heinous attacks rest in peace.**

 **Also, I won't be updating the story until after the second week of June as I'll be preparing for my final exams of my accountancy course. Wish me luck guys!**


	3. Bonding Time, and a Sudden Realization

**Chapter 3: Bonding Time, and a Sudden Realization**

 **A/n: I'm dedicating this chapter to my friend 'Cyonix'. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, bro! Rest of the Author's Note will be at the end of the chapter.**

It didn't take long for the news about Fuli's pregnancy to spread across the Pridelands; just a few hours after Rafiki inspected the Cheetah and broke the news, animals all over the Pridelands flooded inside and around Pride Rock, all of them lined up and eager to pay their respects and well-wishes to the Royal Family for Fuli's expectancy. The scenery inside the den was very much hectic than anyone expected, as the Pridelands' animals crowded inside in hopes of being able to meet with the expecting couple and wish them their congratulations.

The Lioness hunters were especially busy during the impromptu occasion, as they were all burdened with the task of keeping the crowd of visiting animals under control as well as ensuring the safety of members of the Royal Family. As morning turned to mid-day, the number of visiting animals to Pride Rock grew in the hundreds. While the other inhabitants of Pride Rock were busy entertaining these animals, King Simba couldn't help but notice that his two grandchildren, namely Mwamba and Hasina, were very uncomfortable and anxious by all the unexpected visitors, so he offered their parents to bring them away from Pride Rock for an hour or two until all the excitement had died down.

"Grandpa Simba, why exactly did Mum fainted on the way to Pride Rock this morning?" Mwamba asked, as the trio made their way through the surrounding meadows and away from Pride Rock.

"Yeah, and why were all those animals entering our den? Don't they know that we actually eat some of them? Aren't they supposed to be afraid of us?" Hasina joined in as she skipped along beside Mwamba.

The old King chuckled to himself, very much amused by the questions that were thrown at him by the two young cubs, particularly by the ones that were asked by Hasina. "Alright, alright, one at a time now," he laughed, smiling at his scampering grandchildren. "Well, let's start by answering Mwamba's question first."

He turned to focus his attention on his grandson. "Mwamba, the reason why your mum fainted just now was because she's currently pregnant with your sibling," he explained in a soft tone of voice.

"Ohhh, I see. Wait, what does being pregnant mean, Grandpa?"

"Well, being pregnant means that she's carrying another cub inside her stomach, Mwamba, and that cub will eventually come out and will become your brother or your sister."

"Whoah... she's carrying another cub inside her stomach? How did that happen? Did Daddy have something to do with it?"

By now, Simba couldn't hold back his laughter at the young one's innocent curiosity. "Well, uh... in a way, yes, he did have something to do it... but it's not really appropriate to discuss how exactly he did it," Simba replied with a subtle grin, causing Mwamba and Hasina to exchange a confused glance at each other.

"Err... okay. But how will my brother or sister look like when he or she comes out? Will he be a Lion or a Cheetah?"

"Oh... well, that's quite a tough question, Mwamba," Simba said, who was honestly stumped by the cub's question. "Usually, Lions will marry with Lions, and Cheetahs will marry with other Cheetahs. But in this case-"

"So why did Uncle Kion and Aunt Fuli marry each other, then?" Hasina interrupted him.

Simba smiled at her. "Simple, Hasina, it's because they're in love with each other. And when two animals are in love, almost nothing will stop them from wanting to marry each other, even if they are animals of different species. That's one of the many beauties of 'Love'; it brings and unites animals together, regardless of size and species."

The two cubs nodded, slowly understanding their grandfather's explanations.

Simba continued, "And so, when Kion and Fuli got married... well, only the Great Kings of the Past will know exactly how their cub will look like. He could look more like a Lion, or he could look more like a Cheetah. We will only know how he'll look like when he's born."

"Oh. I see..." Mwamba said, pondering on what Simba had just explained to him.

"And to answer your question, Hasina," Simba said, shifting his attention to the young Lioness cub. "Yes, while it's true that we do eat some of the animals that came to our den earlier, they don't really have to fear us unnecessarily because they know that each and everyone of us respects the Circle of Life."

"The Circle of Life? What's that? I don't see a circle anywhere..." Hasina asked as she searched the sky above for this mystery 'circle', causing Simba to stiffle a chuckle.

"No, the 'Circle of Life' is not a physical 'circle', Hasina. It's merely a reference to the never-ending cycle of the way we animals live in the savanna. It means when something dies, it gives new life to another," Simba tried to explain, but the confused look on the cubs' faces told him that clearly they didn't understand what he just said.

With a sigh, the old King began looking around to find a suitable example. They had passed the meadows and were now in the vast grazing grounds where a several herds of zebras were grazing around in the fields. "Ok, here we go. Do you see all the grass around us, Hasina?"

"Yeah."

"Well, the zebras and other plant-eating animals eat the grass here, and then predator animals such as us, will eat some of these zebras. And once we've eaten them, the zebras' remains will eventually decompose and become grass, and the process repeats itself once again. That's what we call the Circle of Life."

"Oh, I think I'm slowly understanding it," Hasina said. "But that still doesn't explain why those plant-eating animals are not afraid of us."

"Ah... they're not afraid of us because we, as the Royal Family, respect the Circle of Life, and to respect the Circle of Life means that we only eat when it's necessary. That's why in my example, I said we eat some of the zebras, we don't eat all of them and we never eat in excess. That's why the plant-eating animals know that for as long as we're not hunting them, they don't have to fear us unnecessarily."

"Oh, ok. So I'm guessing that those animals that visited Pride Rock won't be on the menu for our lunch, then."

"No, I'm afraid they won't," Simba smiled at her.

Together the trio walked ahead until they reached Lake Matope, the biggest clear-water lake in the Pridelands and also the biggest source of water for its inhabitants. When they got there, Hasina took notice of the animals that were already there.

"Is that what you meant by respecting the Circle of Life, Grandpa?" she asked, nudging her head towards the other side of the lake where a herd of gazelles and a single leopard were seen drinking the water side-by-side. "That leopard could easily pounce on the gazelles if he wanted to, but they don't seem bothered that he's drinking right next to them."

"Yes, Hasina, that's correct," Simba replied, playfully ruffling his granddaughter's head. He then took his time to take in the view of the vast clear-water lake, a smile slowly graced his lips as memories of his cubhood days at the lake slowly came back to him.

"You know, kids... Nala and I used to come here everyday and hang around at the edge of the lake there back when we were around your age... just taking our time to talk and play with each other all day..." his voice trailed off and the smile on his lips grew wider, as he reminisced the fun times he had with Nala.

"Wait... you and Nala were already in love each other when you were cubs, Grandpa?" Hasina asked again, interrupting Simba's thoughts.

"What?" Simba exclaimed, looking all around him before realizing that it was Hasina that spoke. "Oh no, no, we were much too young to fall in love with each other back then!" He laughed as he explained to her. "We only started having strong feelings for each other when we were slightly older. But while we were cubs, we were nothing more than best friends."

He paused and grinned at the two cubs. "And someday when both of you are older, I'm sure you'll each find someone you'll fall in love with and eventually start a family together."

While his granddaughter was thoroughly enjoying the entire topic on romance, Mwamba was slowly getting the feeling that their conversation was going to lead to one of those awkward 'talks' he had been having with his father lately, so he tried to come up with something to change the subject.

"Say, Grandpa. You said you used to play with Nala here at the edge of the lake. What kinds of game did you use to play?" he asked.

"Well... on certain days when it was very hot, we would usually take a dip in the lake and cool off. But, there was one thing that we always liked to do when we just didn't have the mood to go for a swim or getting our furs wet. Here, let me show you."

He brought them closer to lake's edge and invited them to stare down into the water with him. "We would just stare into our own reflections for hours and talk about how we would look like when we're older."

Hasina gazed harder at her own reflection. "Well I can already imagine how I'll look like... a beautiful and cute Lioness that will be the envy of all the other Lioness in the Pridelands!"

Mwamba snickered and grinned at her. "Pfftt, yeah... and one who can't stop asking questions every five minutes either."

Hasina rolled her eyes and shot him an unamused look. "Yeah? Well, about you? You're a male Lion, yet you look like a Lioness without a mane!"

She then broke into a fit of giggles while Mwamba sulked and turned his gaze back towards his reflection. As much as he hated to admit, he thought he really did look like a young orange-furred Lioness without a mane, he couldn't see much difference between his reflection and Hasina's, other than their obvious difference of fur colour.

Simba saw the look of insecurity on his grandson's muzzle and instinctively put an assuring paw on his shoulder. "Relax, Mwamba, she's only joking." He paused to glance over at the smirking Hasina. "Your mane will grow one day, it's just that you're... a 'late-bloomer', so you'll have to wait awhile for it to grow."

"I'm a 'late-bloomer'?"

"Yes, unfortunately so. But you don't have to worry it, Mwamba, I'll let you in on a little secret; I was a late-bloomer myself. My mane didn't grow until I was a teenager."

Mwamba's face brightened instantly at this. If it's true that he'll only experience puberty changes at a later age, at least he knows that he's not the first Lion to undergo the same thing. He returned to staring at his reflection in the water, as did Simba and Hasina.

Simba let out a peaceful sigh as a gentle breeze past them. He gazed into the lake as he began reflecting back on his life; he was still happily married to the love of his life, his children were all grown up and had families of their own, and now there he was relaxing by his favorite lake with his two grandchildren. He felt that his life couldn't get any better than this.

He smiled at the sight of his own reflection along with the reflections of his grandchildren at each of his side. But all of a sudden, he soon felt that the more he stared at the reflection of his grandchildren, the more he felt that something was amiss. His smile disappeared and was slowly replaced with a frown as he began scrutinizing the reflections in the water, wondering why on Earth was his natural instincts were telling him that something was off about them.

He soon found himself locking his gaze onto Mwamba's reflection in the water. He realized that the more he stared at it, the more he felt that he had seen the young cub's face... even before Kiara and Kion were born. But how is that even possible? A sudden image of another cub, one who bore the same facial features as Mwamba but sported a patch of auburn-brown mane on his head, instantly flashed in his mind and caused the old Lion to let out a sudden gasp.

"Grandpa... is err... is everything okay?" Mwamba timidly asked, as he noticed Simba was eyeing at his reflection with a look of utter horror on his face.

Simba looked down at his grandson, and the image of the same cub flashed in his mind once again, almost giving him a heart attack.

"Err... yeah, yeah, everything's fine, Mwamba," he said with a nervous cough, though it was obvious to the two cubs that he was lying. He then turned around and began ushering the young ones away from the edge of the lake and towards the direction back to Pride Rock. "Look, I'm sorry kids, but I'm afraid we have to go back home now. It's already getting late."

"What? But we just got here!" Hasina pouted, as she scampered to keep up with Simba who started to rush ahead of her and Mwamba.

"Yes, I know, Hasina, but I uh... I'm not feeling well all of a sudden, I need to get back to Pride Rock. Now, please hurry! I promise I'll make it up to you both first thing tomorrow."

The cubs exchange a confused glance with each other at the unusual change of their grandfather's behaviour, but they didn't dare to question the older Lion, so they tried their best to keep pace with him without uttering another word. Despite his old age, Simba proved that he still had a lot of stamina as he raced back towards Pride Rock with the cubs struggling to keep up with him from behind. In less than ten minutes, the trio arrived at the entrance to the den. They looked around to see all the visiting animals from earlier had already left and only the inhabitants of Pride Rock were seen inside.

"Wow... grandpa... for someone your age, you... you sure can run fast!" Hasina commented, panting heavily next to Mwamba as they tried to catch their breath.

Simba ignored her and began looking around the den.

"Daddy? Well, you and the kids are back rather early." He turned to see Kiara slowly approaching him and the cubs.

"Oh. Sorry sweetie, but... I just remembered that there's something important that I need to take care off," he said, giving his daughter a brief nuzzle. "Now where's your brother? I need to talk to him for a few minutes."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dad, but Kion had just left with Kovu to collect some sort of herbs for Fuli. She's uh... she's not feeling very well."

"Oh. Okay then." Simba replied, letting out an exasperated sigh. "Well, is Fuli still here? Is she too weak to talk now?"

"Yes, she's resting at the back corner over there, but I don't think she'll mind sparing a few minutes if you want to talk to her," Kiara said, rather surprised at her father's urgency.

"Okay, good. I'd like to speak with her in private. Can you please take over these two kids for me in the meantime, sweetheart? Thanks." He hurriedly left her without bothering to properly wait for her reply, causing Kiara to raise a brow at her father's odd demeanour.

In the back corner of the den, Fuli was curled up on the floor and getting some rest after suffering from what she described as 'the most painful stomachache she's ever had'. The Cheetah look up when father-in-law's sturdy bulit came into her view.

"Oh, Simba!" she exclaimed in surprise and rose to give him a respectful bow.

"No, no, it's okay, Fuli, please, just take it easy. I'm not here for formalities," he told her with a smile, not wanting to trouble the pregnant Cheetah.

Fuli nodded and sat on her haunches. "Of course, Your Highness."

Simba let out a sigh and made his way to sit next to her. "Okay, Fuli... before I begin anything, I need to know... would I be troubling you if I were to ask you rather... personal question?"

"No, not at all! You can ask me anything," she replied, giving the old Lion her sweetest smile.

"Okay, that's great." He said, before clearing his throat. "Now, I know you told us that you found Mwamba in the Backlands when you adopted him. But I just need to know... exactly which part of the Backlands did you find him?"

Fuli pinched her lips to the side as she tried to recall. "Well, I actually found him at the very edge of the Mukuni Woods, about a few miles away from the border."

"The Mukuni Woods?! Are you sure?!" Simba suddenly exclaimed, unintentionally startling Fuli in the process.

"Err... yeah, I am." She replied in a small voice, confused by his sudden outburst.

Simba eventually realised his mistake and put an apologetic paw on her shoulder. "Look, I'm really sorry about that. It's just... the name sounded familiar to me, that's all."

Fuli nodded and flashed him a nervous smile, but even she couldn't help but feel that there's something off about her father-in-law that afternoon.

"Well, anyways... thanks for answering my question, Fuli. I uh... I hope you feel better soon." Simba said, getting up on his fours to leave as he sensed that the Cheetah was suddenly feeling awkward by his presence.

"It's my pleasure, Your Majesty. And uh... thank you for your kind wishes," she replied, as Simba gave her a nod before he left. Fuli let out a sigh once he was out of her view, she just hoped that her father-in-law wasn't showing the signs that he was becoming senile.

Meanwhile, Simba walked away from Fuli's corner and into the general area of the den where he could see Hasina playfully pinning Mwamba to the ground while Kiara and the other Lionesses watched them with smiles on their faces. He then noticed Nala settled down on the tall ledge where they usually slept together, observing both her grandchildren playing down below. He debated with himself for a moment before finally deciding to join his mate.

"Ah, there you are, Simba!" Nala greeted him with a smile before nuzzling lovingly against his mane, just as he settled down next to her. "So, how did your time out with the kids go?"

Simba didn't turn to face her but his attention was focused on Mwamba instead. "It went well..."

His voice that trailed off soon after was a telltale sign for Nala that there was clearly something that was bothering her mate. "Is everything okay, honey?" she asked softly with concern.

Simba let out a sigh and briefly turned towards her before shifting his gaze back on Mwamba. He finally decided to come clean and tell her what exactly was troubling him rather than keeping it a secret. "Nala... can you do me a favor? Can you focus your attention on Mwamba for a minute, just... just pay attention to his face; his eyes, ears, nose, everything... and then tell me, who does he resemble to you?"

Nala's brows furrowed at her mate's strange request. If Mwamba was just a random Lion cub that her daughter-in-law found in the middle of nowhere, then he couldn't possibly resemble any Lion that she's ever met before in her life... right? Still, she obeyed her mate's wishes and began scrutinizing her step-grandson.

At first, she didn't notice much about the young Lion cub, as she had been seeing his cute, familiar face for a couple of months now. But as she stared longer, his facial features all seemed... familiar to her. It wasn't long before her eyes widened and she finally realized what exactly her mate was trying to tell her. "Simba... he can't possibly be-"

"I spoke to Fuli just now. You'll never guess where she first found Mwamba before she adopted him," he said, cutting her off.

"Where?"

He paused before staring solemnly into her eyes. "The Mukuni Woods."

Nala's eyes widened with horror when he mentioned the name. "Mukuni Woods? But... that's not possible... I mean... _he_ fell to his death at that same place right in front of us all those years ago!"

Simba nodded. "Yes, I know. That's why I don't think it's a coincidence that Fuli found Mwamba at the edge of that same forest."

Nala turned her gaze towards Mwamba, whose squeals of laughter could be heard all around them, before looking back at her mate. "Simba, are you... are you saying that Mwamba is actually _Kopa's_ son?" she asked in a pained tone as tears slowly streamed down from her eyes.

Simba let out a sigh before giving her a single nod. "Yes... that's exactly what I'm saying. And what's worst is that... all these years, we thought that our Kopa was dead..."

The King and Queen looked down and stared solemnly at Mwamba. He had brought great joy to the pride when Fuli first introduced him those months ago. But now, they fear that he will be the very cause that will tear the family apart.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: So now we know Mwamba's true identity... Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I hope you'd be so kind as to leave a review on your thoughts of this chapter :) Have a wonderful ahead, my friends!**


	4. Fallen

**Chapter 4: Fallen**

After about twenty minutes since Simba brought Mwamba and Hasina away from Pride Rock and away from the visiting animals, Fuli began experiencing painful stomach cramps that caused her to squirm and groan in pain, raising the concern of the visitors and the Lions of Pride Rock, especially Kion. Nonetheless, Rafiki assured them that Fuli will be fine and the cramps will wear off eventually, though he suggested that Kion and Kovu could go out there and collect a special type of herb that Fuli can consume to help her heal faster: twelve pieces of _clitoria ternatea_ flowers that could be found in the Misitu Forest.

Kion initially didn't like the idea of having to leave his ailing mate's side just to collect a few pieces of flowers with a weird-sounding name that he never knew existed before, but after some convincing from Rafiki, Kovu and even Fuli herself, he reluctantly agreed to collect the flowers. It was probably the best thing to do for Fuli anyways, he thought to himself. Before long, he and Kovu had left Pride Rock and were heading south-eastward towards the Misitu Forest. Both of them didn't say anything at first, but ten minutes later into their journey, Kovu saw that his brother-in-law was staring at the ground as he walked, obviously worried about Fuli.

"Hey, you know she's gonna be okay, right?" He smiled, giving the younger Lion an encouraging nudge.

"Yeah, I know that, it's just... I'm just worried for her," Kion responded, flashing a sad smile towards him before lowering his gaze back to the ground as he walked.

Kovu nodded, he could understand the anxiety that Kion was going through. After all, he went through the same thing when Kiara was pregnant with Hasina. He decided to change the topic to something a little more positive to help lift his spirits up.

"You know, I think you handled the news about Fuli's pregnancy rather well yesterday," Kovu began, hoping the younger Lion would join in the conversation.

"Yeah, well... I guess that's because I'm not you. Ha! I still remember the face you made before you passed out when my sister told you that she was pregnant," Kion grinned at him, making Kovu relieved that his plan worked.

"Haha well... every male has his weakness. Mine happens to be whenever my mate announces that she's pregnant with our kid."

"Hmmm... I can't imagine how your reaction will be like should Kiara ever announce that she's pregnant with triplets."

Kovu let out a nervous laugh at this. "Well... I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon. I mean, sure, getting your mate knocked up can be a blessing... but it can be quite a challenge for us males at the same time."

Kion faced him with a raised brow when he said this. "Why's that?"

"Oh... well, I can explain it to you... but only if you can accept the shocking reality behind getting your mate pregnant."

Kion paused in his tracks to make up his mind before he continued walking again. "Sure, I think can handle a few hurtful truths."

Kovu nodded. "Right. Well, like I said, getting your mate pregnant has its blessings... but it also has its curses at the same time. Things will start off like normal in the early stages of her pregnancy; you both will be a little more 'cuddly' than before, knowing the fact that the tiny life in her stomach is a product of your love for each other. But then, as the weeks go by and her stomach gets bigger, she'll eventually won't be in the mood and condition to uh... satisfy your needs. That's when suddenly, all the other Lionesses around you appear a lot cuter than usual, and you have the urge to hang around them as much as possible. That is your first challenge..."

Kion's eyes widened as Kovu said this. He had a strong feeling that whatever he was telling him was meant for his ears only.

"Then comes challenge number two: her mood swings. Carrying a huge load in her stomach and having her movements restricted will have a negative impact on her emotionally; there will be times she just loses it and starts cursing at you for making her pregnant. That usually comes in the later months of her pregnancy."

Kion nodded, silently remembering the major arguments that Kovu and his sister got into almost every night a few weeks before Hasina was due. The worst fight they had ended with Kiara furiously kicking out a sulking Kovu from Pride Rock and forcing him to sleep outside in the cold night. Interestingly, neither Simba nor Nala intervened the young couple, as they didn't want to get involved in their personal matters (but it was also mainly because they secretly found the couple's petty arguments to be rather humorous and entertaining rather than something to be of concern for them).

"So what's challenge number three?" Kion asked.

"Challenge number three... will be the anxiety attacks. This will happen rather frequently during the last few days before she's due. She'll be in a panicky state and will constantly ask you for assurance over and over again, even throughout the night. So my advice? Prepare yourself for the sleepless nights you'll have to spend, because neither of you will be able to sleep peacefully due to the anxiety of knowing that she could deliver anytime soon."

Kion let out a sigh once Kovu finished explaining. He remained silent as the burdening reality of husbandhood finally sank into him. "Wow... I uh... never realized that being an expectant father can be... challenging."

"Yeah... it is. But then again, nothing comes easy in life." He turned to see Kion's face was filled with doubt and worry once again. "But hey, don't let those challenges get to you. Remember, it's only gonna be for a few months. Let me tell you something, if you can control your urges and not have an affair when she's unable to 'satisfy' you, putting aside your ego and let her win in every little argument that both of you will get into, and even sacrificing your sleep just to constantly assure her that she'll be fine when the time comes... then you'll know you're more than ready to be a wonderful father and a great role-model for your future kid. And I have no doubt, Kion, that you'll be great at both when the time comes."

Kion nodded and smiled at the beaming Kovu. He felt that his mind was no longer cluttered and he felt grateful for having the supportive older Lion as his brother-in-law. "Heh, thanks for that, Kovu. I guess that actually helped me clear a few things in my head."

"Glad I was able to help." He nodded at Kion.

The two Lions exchanged a fond glance and continued walking ahead. About twenty minutes later, they both arrived at the outskirts of the Misitu Forest. "Here we are!" Kovu announced as he approached a nearby tree that was covered in vines with a particular kind of flower growing all around the vines.

"There they are, _clitoria ternatea_ flowers." Kion pointed out as he went over to the vines to start plucking the flowers. "Huh, I wonder why they have such a funny nam- oh... oh, wait... okay now I see why."

A big, toothy smile spread across his lips as he realized that the flowers were named after its shape that explicitly resembled a particular 'sight' that would be all too familiar for most married males. Kovu saw the expression on his face and gave him a teasing nudge.

"Hey, come on, wipe that stupid grin off your face. Now's not exactly the time to be having any funny thoughts," Kovu smirked at Kion.

"Sorry, couldn't help myself," Kion grinned back at him. "You know, these flowers reminded me of this 'thing' Fuli and I did a few nights ago and-"

"Well, whatever that 'thing' was, please, keep it to yourself. I don't exactly need to have that kind of imagery in my head right now."

"You sure? Who knows, you might learn a thing or two," Kion joked with a smirk before plucking on one of the flowers. Kovu simply let out a chuckle while shaking his head before joining in to pluck on the flowers. In just a few seconds, they plucked all the flowers that grew on the vine and gathered them into a pile on the ground. But they realized they only managed to harvest thirteen pieces of these flowers, while Rafiki specifically asked for twenty of them.

"Uh-oh. Looks like we're seven flowers short," Kion commented. They both looked around and carefully observed the other trees around them. Most of them were covered with the same winding vines, but none of them had the clitoria ternatea flowers growing on them.

"I guess we're all fresh out of these flowers," Kovu stated. Kion looked around once again and saw that he was right.

"Yeah... it looks like it," he sighed in exasperation. He face creased into a frown as he decided their next course of action. "Kovu, can you do me a favor and take whatever that we've collected and bring them to Fuli? I'll stay on here and try to look for more of these clitoris- I mean, _clitoria_ flowers."

"Sure you don't need my help?"

"Yeah, don't worry I'll be fine."

"Okay, I'll see you back at the den."

Kovu picked up all thirteen pieces of flowers in his jaw and left, leaving Kion all by himself. The young Lion let out a sigh and went deeper into the forest. He spent almost the whole afternoon scrutinizing each tree and each vine for the flowers, but after spending more than an hour of tireless searching, he was more than convinced there weren't any left. He let out a low growl as he sat on his haunches in the middle of the thick greenery, furious that his efforts were all in vain.

 _CRACK_!

Kion's breath stiffened his breath when he heard movement coming from the shrubs behind him. He turned around, barred his teeth and unsheathed his claws. Misitu Forest wasn't really a hostile territory, but the fact that he's alone and exhausted from his search for the special flowers made him vulnerable to any offensive assault by enemy predators. He frowned and let out a warning growl as the shrubs began rustling more frequently this time. But luckily for him, the shrubs stopped moving when a familiar mongoose hopped right out from it and landed inches in front of him.

"Oh... Shingo! You scared me," Kion almost cried out in relief.

"Kion! My goodness, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to startle you!" The small mongoose apologized while bowing politely to the Lion, who was also the Royal prince. "Say, what brings you to this part of the Pridelands?"

"It's okay, there's no need to apologize. And I'm actually here to collect some of the clitoris- err... I mean, the clit... ugh, I forgot the name of that darn flower."

"You mean the _clitoria ternatea_ flower?" Shingo corrected him while trying to stifle a chuckle.

"Uh... yeah, that," Kion replied, grinning at him. "I need them to help with Fuli with her stomach cramps that she's having right now."

"Well, I'm sorry, Kion but I'm afraid you're too late. The other pregnant mothers in this part of the Pridelands have already consumed most of the flowers here." He informed, causing the young Prince to let out an exasperated sigh. "Although... there is another place where you might find plenty of them."

"Really? Where?" Kion asked, his ears pricked up at the new piece of information.

"Right in the heart of the Mukuni Woods."

"The Mukuni Woods? You mean all the way in the Backlands?"

"Yup, all the way in!" Shingo nodded. "That's the only other place where the _clitoria ternatea_ flowers are able to grow. And considering that not many females go to that part of the Backlands, you might just be able find a whole load of them there!"

Kion nodded and turned to head towards the Backlands. "Okay, thanks so much for your help, Shingo. I'm sure am glad to bump into you!"

"It was my pleasure, Your Highness! Good luck, and please give my kind regards to your mate!"

Kion left the forest and raced ahead, making his way further south of the Pridelands until he reached the border into the Backlands. The Backlands were a different part of the African Savanna. It almost resembled the Pridelands, only the terrains there were harsher and most of its habitants consisted of mainly predatory animals. Right now, Kion was struggling to run across a patch of vast, muddy fields that separated the border from the Mukini Woods. After twenty minutes of trudging through the mud, Kion soon found himself standing on the outskirts of the woods, his paws and underbelly fur covered in muck. His jaw dropped as he tilted his head upwards to gaze at the massive trees that towered over him.

 _This is for you, Fuli_ , he sighed to himself as he walked ahead into the woods.

He slowly and carefully made his way around the shrubs and underbrush that grew around the trees there. He realized that the deeper he went in, the darker it got, as the thick foliage above obscured the sunlight and made it even harder for him to trek through the woods. The lone Lion's senses were on full alert and were rapidly picking up all the smells and noices around him, he had to be prepared in case he accidentally ran into a hostile predator that was waiting to pounce on him. Just then, he noticed the trees up ahead had familiar vines around them that bore several distinct purple-coloured flowers. Kion broke out into a relieved smile before quickening his pace to rush for those particular trees.

He took no more than several steps ahead when he stopped in his tracks. His blaring senses and animal instincts told him that he was standing in the presence of danger, though he couldn't really see anything around him that posed a threat. At that moment, he felt it; he felt the ground beneath his paws began vibrating violently and he was now convinced that he was in immediate danger.

"Oh no- AHHHHHHH!"

In just a split second, the ground beneath him gave way and he soon found himself freefalling downwards to the pull of gravity.

"Ooof!" He groaned when he finally hit the 'floor' beneath him.

Luckily, Kion wasn't too badly injured as it was a rather short fall. He shook of the dirt and debris off from his body and looked around. He realized that he had, in fact, fallen into a rather large sink hole, the same kind that Simba had fallen into several years back, only slightly smaller. The 'floor' beneath him consisted of patches of soft, broken earth, and judging by its dampness, he was able to tell that the sinkhole formed as a result of the recent rainstorm that descended upon the Savanna early that morning.

 _Great, this is just what I needed right now!_ Kion grumbled, as he looked up to see the edge of the sinkhole about twenty feet above him. He let out a sigh; there was nothing he could hold onto to climb his way out, and the soft, damp earth that made up the walls of the sinkhole were crumbly, making it impossible for him to scale his way out of there.

 _Can my day get any worse_? He thought rhetorically to himself.

"Well... well... well, what have we have here?"

Kion gasped and looked up when he heard the voice of another animal above him. There, standing over the edge of the sinkhole was another male Lion with bright-orange fur and a scruffy, dirty-brown mane that covered his head and broad chest, frowning as he peered into the sinkhole while standing over the ledge.

"Hevi Kebisa..." Were the only two words that Kion could utter as his eyes met with those of the other Lion.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Will edit later to put and a proper Author's Note. In the meantime, please do leave a review on your thoughts of this chapter. Thank you.**


	5. The King of Mukuni Woods

**Chapter 5: The King of Mukuni Woods**

Fear and uncertainty shrouded upon Kion as his gaze met that of the strange Lion's, who stood above him at the very edge of the sinkhole that he was stuck in. For a few moments, no words or gestures were exchanged between the two Lions, neither of them said anything as they stared at each other's eyes.

Then, just as soon as they began, the other Lion unexpectedly turned around and his face was no longer seen peering into the sinkhole. Kion's eyes widened as he gazed at the spot where the other Lion's face was seen only seconds ago. In all honesty, he was in fact, baffled and stupefied by the other Lion's presence as he was constantly told by his parents that there were no Lions living in the Backlands. But that didn't matter now, he needed to get out of the sinkhole, and this other Lion's help was his only hope of getting out of there.

"Hey! Hey, excuse me! I need a little help down here!" Kion yelled out at the top of his lungs, hoping the other Lion would turn back and assist him.

Several seconds passed and there was no response.

"Hello?! Hey, I saw you just now! I need your help getting out of here, PLEASE!" he repeated and held his breath and awaited for a response.

And yet again, after waiting for several moments, Kion heard no reply nor even a sight of the Lion. Giving up all hope, Kion let out a long sigh as he collapsed onto the ground. He guessed as much that the Lion wouldn't bother to help him, and now he had to think of another way of getting out of the sinkhole or that massive hole in the ground might just be his final resting place. But then, his ears pricked up when he heard several small stones and Earth crumble down from the 'wall' of the sinkhole just in front of him.

He looked up to see that a single thick and thorny green vine was being lowered from the edge of the sinkhole until the tip was dangling just a few metres above his head.

"Hey! You, _inthide dih inkhole_! _Thry anth clemb_ up _dih_ vine!" shouted a voice from above that was very much muffled, so much so that Kion had to take a while to finally understand what it was saying.

Not wasting a second, he crouched low and set his gaze to focus on the dangling tip of the vine. Then, in one swift movement, he sprang his hind legs upwards and leapt towards it. With great precision, his jaws managed to clench onto the vine between his fangs and his unsheathed claws sank into the soft soil that made up the 'wall' of the sinkhole, steadying himself as he was now dangling several feet above the 'floor'. Without moving his head, he slowly looked upwards and saw that it was a long climb before he could finally reach the edge of that massive hole.

With a grunt, Kion released his left paw from the soil and grabbed onto the vine, using it to hold himself onto the plant instead of his jaws. He then released his right paw from the soil and launched it upwards as far as he could reach before sinking his claws into the soil again. Taking a deep breath, he (sparingly) used his strength and energy to pull himself higher while holding tightly onto the vine and soil. Slowly and steadily, he had to repeat the entire process as he climbed his way upwards towards freedom. At last, after twenty full minutes of climbing, his right paw reached over the edge before he was finally able to pull his entire body out of the sinkhole.

Once his fours were on the grassy ground again, he had the opportunity to finally meet face-to-face with his savior, and was very much surprised to see that it was the same scruffy, brown-maned Lion. His jaws were clenched around the vine to steady it for Kion, which explained his muffled voice earlier on. Once Kion had climbed out, he promptly let go of the vine and caused it to slither rapidly into the sinkhole where it was never to be seen again.

"You okay?" The other Lion asked as he stared down at Kion, who had collapsed onto the ground again and was recovering from exhaustion.

"Yeah... I'm... I'm fine. All thanks to you," Kion replied and flashed a grateful smile.

The Brown-maned Lion simply nodded and turned around, obviously with every intention to leave the area. Kion was honestly surprised by his intended departure and tried to hail him back.

"Hey! Wait a minute, don't go yet!" he shouted as he stood back on his fours. "I didn't catch your name!"

The Lion stopped after taking no more than three paces forward. "I go by many names," he solemnly responded, turning around to face Kion. "But the other animals in these parts usually refer to me as 'King of Mukuni Woods'".

Kion's eyes gleamed at the word 'King'. Coming across another Royalty was the last thing he expected to happen when he first stepped into the Backlands. Then, it dawned upon him that if the other Lion was the ruler of this part of the Backlands, then it also means he had just rudely trespassed into his territory.

"Oh... well, in that case, I err... I deeply apologise for rudely intruding your dependency... err- Your Majasty," Kion humbly said, bowing politely to the other Lion.

The Lion King simply stared at Kion with a raised brow before errupting into a thunderous, jolly laughter, very much to the Leader of the Lion Guard's utter confusion.

"Ho ho! My, you are an interesting character! I like you already!" he boomed between his laughs. By now, Kion was slowly losing his patience and was now curious as to what the joke was all about.

The Lion wiped his tear-filled eyes and finally straightened his composure. "I think you didn't hear me properly. I said, the animals around here refer to me as a King, when in fact, I'm not actually one. That's just a nickname they gave me, 'cause... you know, Lions, Kings of the Jungle?" he casually explained in a rather care-free manner.

This very much surprised Kion as his current demeanor was a complete contrast to the solemn and serious behaviour that the Lion portayed when they first made eye-contact back at the sinkhole. But looking back, Kion felt embarrassed that he actually mistook this scruffy old Lion as a Royal. Of course, owing to his calm and polite nature, Kion brushed it aside and decided to carry on being civil with the Lion. After all, he did technically save his life.

"Okay, well... even if you're not a King, I still would like to know the name of the Lion who spared me from a long and lonely death," he said, hoping he would get a proper answer this time.

The other Lion pinched his lips to the side and seemed to be pondering for an appropriate response. "Well... it's not often I give out my real name to strangers. But err.. seeing as you look like a trustworthy animal... my name's Kopa."

"Ah. Glad to meet you, Kopa," Kion smiled at him. "The name's Kion, by the way."

"Kion, huh? Very interesting name," Kopa replied, also bearing a smile across his maw. Just then, they were callously interrupted by the sound of low growl that apparently originated from Kion's gut.

"Hmmm... seems like someone hasn't eaten lunch yet," Kopa observed, causing Kion's face to redden. "I might have some leftovers back at my place... if you're willing to join me, that is."

Kion was genuinely taken aback by Kopa's generosity. Normally, he would think twice when a stranger made him an offer, but considering that his last meal was in fact last night's dinner, this was currently an offer he couldn't refuse. "Sure, lead the way."

Kopa beamingly nodded and walked ahead as Kion followed behind. Together, they carefully navigated around the foliage and underbrush as they trudged deeper into the Woods. Along the way, they passed by a particular fever tree where a grey Langur was seen relaxing on a branch high above the felines' heads. "H-Hey! Look who it is, the Big Easy! How are you doing, your Royal Highness?" he called out cheerfully as he waved an arm at Kopa.

"Taking it easy as always, old friend!" Kopa shouted his reply. "Hey, how's your missus doing?"

"Hmph. Nothing new, just plain mean as a snake," the Langur responded in a less enthusiastic tone. Just then, a femine voice voice was heard shouting from one the branches of the other fever trees.

" _Honey! Where the Hell are you, I thought you're supposed to get the kids' lunch?! Are you still lazing around in your tree_?!"

The Langur groaned and rolled his eyes before promptly leaving without saying his goodbye. Kopa let out a chuckle and continued walking ahead. Kion, on the other hand, wasn't really interested in the short drama that unfolded before him, but rather, the nickname that the Langur used to call Kopa.

"' _Big Easy'_ , huh?" he asked with a raised brow.

"I'll explain that some other time. Let's just get back to my place, okay?" Kopa replied without looking behind.

With that, Kion continued trailing behind him without saying another word. As they trekked deeper into the Woods, they passed by several more animals who cheerfully greeted Kopa as they passed by. Servals, baboons and even a flock of birds came out of their respective habitats just to meet or make small talk with the Lion, to which Kopa would humbly smile and greeted back to each and every one of them.

"Wow... you seem to be quite popular around here," Kion observed, after seeing off a black raven who had earlier swooped down to warmly greet Kopa before taking off into the skies again.

"Well, I wouldn't really say 'popular', I'm just really good friends with all my neighbours here in the Woods," Kopa replied. "Believe me, Kion, out here... you'll need all the company you can get if you wanna survive in these parts of the Backlands. That's why I like to keep my friends close."

"And your enemies closer?" Kion blindly asked, thinking he once heard of a saying that went somewhere along that line.

"What, are you outta your mind? 'Course not! If I did, they'd kill me in an instant! Where'd you get such a crazy idea?" Kopa scoffed and gazed at the Lion walking beside him.

"Heh, nowhere, I err... I thought I heard an expression that went something like that," Kion replied, feeling his face to crimson once again to which, Kopa simply laughed as he shook his head.

They continued walking for another five minutes until they finally reached a neat little clearing within the Woods where a small lake was located right at the heart of it. "Welcome to my little paradise!" Kopa announced as he cleared past the last bit of underbrush to introduce to Kion his humble home.

Kion was thoroughly impressed as he let his gaze wander around the clearing. "Wow! This is some place you got here, Kopa!" he commented.

The brown-maned Lion smiled and said nothing at first before pulling out a single piece of a banana leaf with several pieces of sardines neatly stacked on it that was earlier hidden within one of the many bushes that surrounded the lake.

"You can compliment about my home all you like later. For now, why don't you help yourself to some lunch?" Kopa offered, noticing that Kion started drooling at the sight of the stack of sardines.

He settled himself down as he amusingly watched his guest hungrily eat away at the pile of fish. Halfway through his meal, however, Kion happened to steal a glance towards the lake and his gaze immediately remained fixed on the stagnant waters after that, catching the attention of his host.

"What're you lookin' at, pal?" Kopa inquired.

"I'm not so sure," Kion said, squinting his eyes as he gazed harder towards the lake. "But I'm currently looking at two trails of bubbles that seem to be heading straight towards us..."

"Bubbles?!" Kopa cried out in alarm, when all of a sudden, two snarling creatures leapt from the waters and lunged straight at the brown-maned Lion in an amphibious assault.

"Gotcha!" One of the creatures, who turned out to be a medium-sized male klipspringer with an unusual deep voice, taunted as he pinned the surprised Lion to the ground.

"Did you reeeaaally think you can get away from us this time, hon'?" His accomplice said, whom happened to be a male spotted-leopard and, despite his gender and powerful built, spoke in a slightly deep but feminine voice.

"Hey, you two! Get away from him!" Kion shouted his warning at the pair, flashing his fangs and unsheathing his claws for good measure.

"Hey, who's this clown?" The klipspringer asked in his rough voice.

"Boys! Boys! Take it easy! He's not a threat, he's our guest!" Kopa shouted as he eased himself off from the klipspringer's grip, much to Kion's confusion. "Kion, I'd like you to meet my mates; Kito the klipspringer and Lema the leopard."

"Hey, how you doing?" Kito greeted in a rather solemn tone.

"Oooh... so we got ourselves a rather haaandsome young Lion as our guest for today, eh?" Lema the Leopard commented in a sing-song manner as he nuzzled against Kion's side, making the Lion feel very much uncomfortable. "Mmmm... I like him already! Have you felt his fur? My goodness, I've never felt fur that's as soft as his!"

By now, Kion felt he was about to throw up his lunch and promptly took a single step aside to get away from the Leopard's clutches. "Wait, hold on a second. These guys are actually... your mates?"

"Yeah, you know... housemates. We live together here at the Lake," Kopa casually answered him.

"You got a problem with three guys living happily together and enjoying each other's company, huh?" Kito barked threateningly at Kion.

"No, no, not at all," Kion replied defensively. "Just... go ahead and carry on with your business."

"Good. Hey, Lema! Come, let's both take a dip in the lake, eh?"

And with that, the two males leaped back into the lake and were soon relaxing at the edge with their arms spread open, revealing the well-built muscles that covered their upper torso. Kion shuddered at the sight of this and decided to continue where he left off with his lunch while Kopa settled himself down in front of his guest.

"You know, these fish are the best fish I've ever tasted in my life," Kion commented politely after taking a bite of one of the sardine fish. "Where'd you get them?"

"Why, from this very lake of course!" Lema replied for his housemate. "Some of the savanna's finest fish can be found right here, hon'. Ooh, heads up!"

A small sardine fish had leapt itself conveniently in front of the Leopard and was promptly consumed by Lema in just a single bite.

Kion's eyes widened with horror as he shifted his gaze between the pile of sardines that he just ate and the lake where both the klipspringer and leopard were currently dipping their bodies in.

"Kion, you okay? You look like you're turning green!" Kopa inquired in alarm when he noticed the younger Lion looked to be quite nauseous.

"No, no, I'm good." He responded untruthfully, avoiding to look at the stack of sardines. He decided he had just about enough of the Backlands and thought it was high time he returned back to Fuli."

"Listen, Kopa... I really appreciate the hospitality you're giving me, but I really need to get back home. My mate needs me."

"Your mate as in your housemate, or-"

"No, my mate as in, my wife. She's waiting for me to get back home, and so is my son."

"Oh, you're married? Well... lucky you," Kopa smiled politely, though his tone of voice made it somewhat clear that he was quite envious of the fact that his guest was a married Lion. "Anyways... I suppose you'll want directions to get out of these woods. Err... where did you say you're from again?"

"I'm from the Pridelands, and yes, I'd appreciate it if you could provide me with some direct-"

He stopped midway into his sentence when he realized that the older Lion, along with the klipspringer and the leopard, were all staring at him at the mention of the Pridelands.

"The Pridelands, huh? That's interesting," Kopa finally spoke, however, in a dangerously calm voice. "Are you their new ruler over there?"

"N-no, I'm not. My father, King Simba is," Kion cautiously replied, wondering why the sudden change of atmosphere.

Kopa briefly stared at the ground before looking back into Kion's eyes. "And let me guess... your mother is Queen Nala, I suppose?"

Kion suddenly felt paralyzed when Kopa said this. "Yeah... but... how'd you know that?"

The brown-maned Lion took a deep breath and what he said next will forever haunt Kion for the rest of his life. "Because, Kion... they're my parents too. I'm actually your brother."

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Hope you guys enjoyed it! Please leave a kind review on how I did and I hope to see you guys in the next chapter! :) By the way, I'd like ti wish my American readers and friends an early Happy Independence Day! :D**


	6. Kopa Explains His Past

**Chapter 6: Kopa Explains His Past**

 **A/n: Regarding Kopa's age, I'm using 'Lion years' instead of 'Human Years'. Sorry in advance if this chapter felt a bit boring though. I hope you guys will still be kind enough to leave a review, however, and I promise the next chapter will have more suspence to it.**

Kion sat on his haunches and stared fixedly at Kopa with his mouth gaped open. He started feeling a little light-headed by the other Lion's unexpected revelation. Did this stranger, whom he had just been acquainted with for not more than a couple of hours, just claimed to be his own brother?

"I- I don't understand... how in the whole Savanna is that even possible?!" he finally spoke after being stupefied by a full minute, glaring at his so-called 'brother' in the eyes, demanding for an answer.

Kopa stole a glance at the Klipspringer and Leopard, who were both still dipping their bodies in the lake but all the while were aiming their gazes suspiciously at the two Lions, before looking back at Kion.

"You know what, Kion? I feel the need to have a good, long walk around the Woods. Feel free if you want to join me," he replied vaguely before walking ahead without waiting for his response. Kion immediately understood that this wasn't an invitation. He silently followed behind the brown-maned Lion and stole a glance behind him, only to see Lema and Kito staring intently after him and Kopa as they left the clearing, raising even more questions in his head regarding this odd duo and their relationship with Kopa.

"So... where we going?" Kion asked in a low voice, once he was sure they were a good distance away from the clearing and well out of ear-shot from the Leopard and Klipspringer. Kopa, however, didn't bother to reply, and instead kept on walking ahead without making an effort to even glance at the younger Lion. This very much annoyed Kion, as he hated it whenever he was ignored. Yet, he managed to keep his cool and followed closely behind Kopa without uttering another word, very much hoping that his questions will soon be answered.

As they trekked through the foliage and underbrush, Kion realized that the route they were taking felt somewhat familiar. After another ten minutes of journeying, he soon found out why; Kopa had led him right back to the giant sinkhole, where his short adventure in the Backlands first began. The brown-maned Lion said nothing as he gingerly made his way to the very edge of the hole and peered into the deadly abyss.

By now, Kion was very much bewildered by Kopa's intentions of bringing him back to this depressing area. Nonetheless, he carefully made his way and sat next to him, albeit slightly further away from the edge.

"You know, kid... every part of the Mukuni Woods has its own unique story to tell," Kopa said, maintaining his peering into the sinkhole. "If there's anything you need to know, Kion, is that the animals around here call these parts as the Devil's Mouth, and with good reason. The Earth in these parts of the Woods is very unstable, and any unsuspecting animal passing beyond this point is doomed to end up in a sinkhole such as this one."

He paused and stared at the direction further up the path that was partly blocked by thick underbrush and thick vines from the trees that grew around it, as if to serve as a warning for animals not to go beyond that point. "If you look over there, Kion, you'll find that the sinkholes beyond those shrubs will contain the remains of poor souls who lost their lives when they fell inside them. You should feel lucky, kid. As far as history goes, you and I are the only lucky ones to have been able to climb up from one these death-traps and lived to tell the tale."

Kion's ears pricked up immediately when he said this. "Hold on. You were trapped in one of these sinkholes before?"

Kopa momentarily shift his gaze at Kion before returning back to staring at the shrubs ahead. "Unfortunately, yes. Right beyond those underbrush there... when I was only three months old. That cursed hole is the reason why I'm still living in the Backlands after all these years." With all the new information, Kion was now even more curious and desperate for answers.

"How about I tell you a little something about my past?" Kopa offered, noticing the excitement and curiosity in his eyes. "Although, I have to warn you... you're bound to get bored halfway through."

"I doubt it," Kion responded, very curtly. "And anyways, I'm very keen to know as to how exactly you and I are related."

"Right, then... if you insist," Kopa began. "But err... before I start, I need to know something; is there any other sibling before or after you?"

"Sure, there's my sister Kiara."

"Anyone else?"

"No, it's just her."

"Is she older or younger than you?"

"Older."

Kopa's face immediately turned into a bitter scowl at his last reply (much to Kion's surprise) but he quickly straightened his face and posture seconds later and prepared to tell his tale. "Alright, Kion. I'll tell you everything you need to know."

 _ **Kopa's P.O.V.**_

"You see, kid, I was born about four years ago at Pride Rock. Just like I mentioned before, my parents are indeed Simba and Nala... whether you choose to believe it or not. I don't remember much what happened on the day I was born... though I could still vaguely remember seeing this bent, old baboon who took me away from Mum and Dad and raised me in front of all the animals of the kingdom at Pride Rock. I'm still not sure the purpose of having that ceremony, though. Looking back, I actually feel sorry for all those animals who have to wake up early in the morning just to see a Lion cub being lifted into the air by a creepy, old baboon.

But anyways, I don't really remember much that happened in the following weeks to come. All I could remember during the days I was growing up was that... Dad was always telling me how lucky he was for having a male heir to his throne whenever he and I watched the Sun set over the kingdom from Pride Rock . Of course, I was still too young to actually understand what he was saying back then, so I simply nod everytime he talked to me about it... eventhough I had completely no idea what he's talking about. But one thing I used love about Dad was that he was cool enough to give me the freedom to do and mess about with almost anything I like in the Pridelands, eventhough Mum sometimes voiced some concerns about that.

Anyways, fast forward a year later, and I was a teenager getting ready for my first hunt. I still remembered how Dad was encouraging me and telling me what to do once I found a prey, though Mum was concerned about me going out alone. After receiving 'good luck' wishes from the rest of the Pride, I set off alone to hopefully find a prey that's big enough for our lunch. The one obvious challenge that I had to face during my first hunt was that it was during the dry season... meaning most prey animals had migrated elsewhere to escape the heat. I strongly recalled spending hours trying to find and locate any prey animals that were still around, but the Pridelands were really barren back then and I saw not a soul in sight.

Then, I happened to chance upon this lone klipspringer at the edge of the Pridelands drinking at one of the last few remaining watering holes. I tried my best to follow Mum and Dad's hunting tips, but I guessed I must have been a little too excited at that time, because I accidentally let out a yelp the moment I saw him... and the klipspringer instantly took off off immediately after that.

Of course, by natural instincts, I gave chase to him. He was the first prey I encountered after hours of fruitless searching, so I wasn't going to give up on him easily. He started running... or rather, skipping... he was a klipspringer after all, skipping around the savanna while I chased after him and kept close to his heels... I suspect he was trying to wear me off by running around in huge circles. But like I said, I didn't give up easily... and the klipspringer soon realized this. That's when he decided to change course and started skipping towards the Mukuni Woods, right here in the Backlands.

Well, I didn't know any better, so I just followed after him. I guess I was hoping that all the underbrush would've slowed him down or something... but apparently, it didn't. He just skipped right through all the undergrowth while I had to painstakingly navigate around them. Then, out of the blue while I was chasing the klipspringer halfway through the Woods, I heard Mum and Dad frantically calling my name as they chased behind me, while at the same time, I heard the sound of flapping of wings above... I deduced that Zazu had spotted me going into the Backlands and immediately informed them about it.

Nonetheless, however, I was still fixed at capturing my prey. So I ignored their shouts and simply rushed ahead to gain some distance on the klipspringer. But then... you know what that damned beast did after that? He led me right up this path through the Devil's Mouth and jumped through some bushes before disappearing after that. Of course, I was too dumb to know any better so I just followed after it. But before I could even reach the bushes, the ground around me suddenly gave way and I soon found myself falling into what felt like a miserable, bottomless pit.

The rest of it... felt kinda hazy after that. I remembered... being buried under so much rubble and Earth that I actually thought I was already dead. Then I heard the fluttering of wings, some concerned voices from above... and then silence after that. I can't remember how long the silence lasted... nor how long I was trapped in that gosh-forsaken Hellhole, because I passed out immediately after that.

But somehow, by some miracle, I actually woke up from that deep sleep. How long was I K.O.-ed? I have no idea. But the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes... was the same klipspringer I've been chasing... only this time, he was standing next to a spotted Leopard. The Leopard spoke first and told me that he and the klipspringer worked together to get me out of the sinkhole before introducing himself and his friend to me. And yes, just as you could very well guess... that klipspringer and leopard were Kito and Lema. But somehow, when I saw Kito after gaining consciousness, I wasn't mad at him for causing me to fall into trap of the Devil's Mouth. In fact, I uh... I couldn't even remember falling into any particular hole.. and what's worse was that I couldn't even remember my name. I actually suffered severe memory loss as a result of the trauma when I fell into the sinkhole, so whatever memory I had prior had totally elapsed.

Kito and Lema realized this when I couldn't tell them what my name was... so they decided to take care of me until, at least they hoped, I was able to get my memory back. The clearing with the lake that you visited just now? That's their territory actually, and that's where they also took care of me from that point on. I eventually found out from some of the animals that lived around us that the pair were long-time 'buddies', though some also claimed that they were actually more than just that. Anyways, since I couldn't remember my own name, they gave me the nickname 'Big Easy' mainly because of my naturally laid-back attitude throughout my time with them.

Then, one fine morning, I spotted this lone gazelle hanging about near the Backlands. I was feeling quite peckish that particular morning, so I decided to silently stalk it a little while longer before making any moves. But unfortunately, just mere seconds after that, the rest of its herd called after him and he immediately left. Of course, I was bitterly disappointed by that, but what really surprised me was that I also noticed several herds of zebra, antellope and oryxes were following behind them and going in the same direction.

Once again, curiosity got the better of me and I silently followed behind them. We walked for what felt like hours, before we finally arrived at Pride Rock. Seeing the familiar rock formation and all the animals that surrounded it had some sort of weird effect on me; because immediately after taking in the surroundings, all my memories instantly came flooding back into me. I could remember my name and I could even remember the place I was standing at. Then, that's when I saw them. Simba and Nala, Mum and Dad... both of them were standing at the ledge of Pride Rock and overlooking all the animals down below.

I was so overjoyed to see them once again that I started gleefully making my way towards them. But then, I saw it. I stopped running when I saw the same baboon appearing from behind Mum and Dad. It wasn't the old creep that took me by surprise actually, but rather... the small Lion cub that he held between his hands. He raised the cub into the air and presented it to the animals around me. Today, just a few minutes ago... I learnt that the cub's name is Kiara.

That's when I saw Mum nuzzling against Dad's mane, both of them bearing happy faces on their muzzles as they watched the monkey presented their cub to the Pridelands. It was on that moment... that my heart had completely shattered. My own Mum and Dad had just lost me a few months ago and now, here they are, welcoming that- that- that furball into this world as my replacement... I was heartbroken. I couldn't bear to witness another second of that cursed ceremony... and so I turned my back and headed back to the Backlands where I decided to stay for the rest of my life."

Kion held back a tear when Kopa finally finished his explanation. He had to be honest, he actually thought that whatever Kopa spoke in the earlier part of his tale was made-up. But as he went on with his history, everything slowly started making sense. He now finally knew the reason why his Dad was so overly protective of him and Kiara when they were cubs. Yet, Kopa's revelations raised another obvious question that needs an answer; why didn't his parents ever told him and Kiara about Kopa's existence? But he supposed that that question can wait for later. Right now, his main priority was to help his long-lost elder brother and hopefully settle things between him and their parents.

"Kopa... I know you're still probaly mad at them, but I need to bring you back to Pride Rock and let Mum, Dad and the rest of the Pride know that you're still alive! I'm sure they'll-"

"No! I don't ever want to meet those two Lions who betrayed me and broke my heart!" Kopa angrilly rebuked. "You wanna go back to the Pridelands, that 's fine. But you're going without me."

Kion let out an exasperated sigh and went closer towards his elder brother. "Kopa, please. Just... just come back to the Pridelands and be part of our family again. If you're uncomfortable of going back to Pride Rock so soon, you can always stay at my place until you feel ready to go back home. I'll even take care of you-"

"TAKE CARE OF ME?! You're my kid brother and you take care of me?!" Kopa suddenly lashed out with barred teeth, taking Kion completely by surprise. "Listen, kid. I don't need your precious butt to take care of me, you hear? I survived out here in the Wild since I was a teen, and will continue to do so until my time comes. I don't need the Pridelands and I sure as Hell don't need you! I don't wanna be reminded about Pride Rock, and especially not about Simba and Nala! I don't consider them to be my parents anymore. You wanted to know the way back to Pridelands earlier right? Well here it is; you just down this lane here and it will lead you straight back to your precious Pridelands."

"But, Kopa, please! Just hear me out-"

"That was an order, kid. Get out of my territory, or else..." Kopa threatened as he unsheathed his claws and growled at the younger Lion.

Kion knew he had better leave for his own safety, it was obvious that any effort he put in to persuade with his elder brother would be futile. With a defeated sigh, he turned around and started walking down the path towards the Pridelands.

"Kopa... before I go, I want to give you a word of advice; you don't ever turn your back on your own family, even when they do to you." Kion managed to say before continuing to walk ahead.

Kopa scowled as he watched his younger brother walk down the path until he disappeared from his sights. The brown-maned Lion then turned around and started walking back towards the Lake but paused in his tracks seconds afterwards. A devious smile slowly formed on his lips when he noticed an avian friend of his perched on a tree branch just ahead of him as an equally devious idea flew right into his head.

 ** _XXXXXXX_**

Meanwhile, Kion trudged heavily across the muddy ground as he finally left the Mukuni Woods and had just passed the Pridelands' side of the border. Many questions were playing in his mind right now as he started asking himself what was he to do once he got back to Pride Rock. His thoughts were momentarily interrupted when he heard the sound of squawking high above in the skies. He looked up and saw a silky-black raven circling in the heavens above him. Considering the bird of no significance, Kion dismissed it and continued on with his journey back to Pride Rock.

 **To be continued...**


	7. Unwelcomed Visitor

**Chapter 7: Unwelcomed Visitor**

Vitani heaved with a grunt as she strenuously dragged the massive carcass of a recently-deceased gazelle by its antlers up the stepping stones of Pride Rock. Earlier in the afternoon, while the Lions' den was filled with visiting animals who came to congratulate Fuli on her pregnancy, and also considering the fact that she didn't have Kovu nor Kion to strike a conversation with, Vitani decided to do something useful and hunt for the Pride's dinner instead of just hanging around and waiting for all the hoo-ha to die down. She'd be doing the other Lioness hunters a favor anyways, since all of them were busy handling the security of the Royal Family while Pride Rock was crowded with the Pridelands' animals.

She had gone as far as the Acacia grazing grounds several miles away from Pride Rock to track down a suitable prey big enough to feed the whole pride. Considering that most of the other animals were at Pride Rock, Vitani expected that she'd have to spend a few hours until she'd be able to spot one, but it turned out that luck was on her side when she chanced upon a particular gazelle laying on the ground on its side. As was her usual hunting procedure, she carefully and silently approached the unsuspecting prey while crouching low to the ground to remain hidden. But once she got close enough, she realized that she didn't have to put much effort in her hunt after all.

One look at the gazelle's face and she was able to recognize him as one of the elder members of the local gazelle herd that lived in that area, and judging by his quivering legs and his difficulty to breathe, it was clear to Vitani that the old gazelle was dying. She walked closer to the gazelle and stopped a couple of feet away from him. The gazelle noticed this and focused his blackening vision on the Lioness in front of him. He didn't move nor did he feel spooked by the Lioness' presence. There was no point to it. Accepting his fate, he slowly shut his eyes and calmly waited for the inevitable.

Yet, several moments had passed and he couldn't feel anything; no pain and no throbbing feeling of fangs sinking into his flesh. Nothing. He carefully opened an eye and, much to his surprise, saw Vitani calmly sitting on her haunches and staring solemnly at him with her azure eyes peering into his.

"I hope you know that you're supposed to use your jaws to snap my neck into half, right?" the old gazelle pointed out to the Lioness jokingly, albeit in a very noticably weak and raspy voice.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Vitani softly replied, bearing a small but barely visible pitiful smile on her lips, the very first time she's ever done that before. She had decided to show some form of compassion for the older animal and allowed him to pass on naturally instead of her killing him before his time officially came.

The gazelle understood her intentions and nodded. He rested his head on the ground and patiently waited for death to mark his completion of his journey in the Circle of Life. Minutes passed and prey and predator didn't exchange any other word after that.

"So... how come you're alone?" the old gazelle finally asked, after deciding that Death was taking far too long to come knocking at his door.

"My pridesisters are all currently busy at the moment, so I have to go out and hunt by myself," Vitani curtly replied, naturally not taking much interest in the conversation.

"Okay… but what about all the other times that you're alone? Why is it that you like being alone... Vitani? Why do you like being by yourself all the time?"

This time, Vitani's ears pricked up and her eyes widened as she stared at the gazelle. She had barely interacted with any of the other Pridelanders during the short while she's lived there, so it came to as a surprise for her that he knew what her name was.

"You've built yourself a reputation for being quite the loner, I'm afraid," the gazelle continued, as if he was able to read the thoughts in her mind. "The other animals can't help but notice you every time you got out from Pride Rock, avoiding the other Lionesses and then spending hours sulking and staring at the savanna by yourself till nightfall."

Vitani let out an annoyed grunt upon hearing this; not so much at the fact that he had exaggerated on how long she actually spent on her daily routine of observing the view of the African savanna (she only did so for only a couple hours every day. Of course, she'll have other duties to take care of immediately after that), but rather at the fact that the other animals had branded her to be a loner. Even then, she couldn't help but feel they were somewhat justified to perceive her as such.

The gazelle saw the annoyed look on her muzzle and decided to calm her down by using whatever strength he had left to flash a kindly smile towards her,

"The others may consider you a loner, Vitani... but I do not. I do not know you that well, young child... but I can see it in your eyes that you actually want companionship, you crave for it. Loners will never bother to seek the company of others, they do everything in their power to avoid society. In short, they hate everyone. But you're not like that at all, Vitani. You just have one tiny problem that prompts others to perceive that you are a loner; you only want companionship from only the animals that you either like or have a close connection with. And even then, you don't make an effort to tell these animals you want their company or companionship. You just make them feel that they are just any other animal that you see in your life; you don't make them feel that they're important to you."

Vitani blinked, dumbfounded for a few seconds before eventually letting out a long, defeated sigh. As much as she wanted to deny the gazelle's statement, everything that he said was absolutely true. Everyone in the Pridelands knew she wasn't much of a talker; instead, she was widely known to prefer speaking only when necessary. And even when she does, she tends to be rather sarcastic and rude, and at times, offensive, due to her infamous sardonic nature, thus further deterring other animals from being eager to even strike a casual conversation with her. There were, however, those who were already used to her sarcasm and bluntness, and have no problem conversing with her without being offended by her response. These were the animals she didn't mind being in their company with and whom she completely trusts. But the list of these animals that fall under that category was very small, and that only included her Outsider pride sisters, her brother Kovu and Kion. The list excluded the other Lions of Pride Rock because, despite living under the same roof as them, she either felt uncomfortable being in their presence or she silently held personal grudges against them.

And yet, out of the small list of these few animals, Kovu and Kion were the only ones she genuinely loved and cared about. Of course, eventhough she rarely displayed it, she always had a soft spot for her younger brother whom she had long considered to be her only friend while growing up in the Outlands during their cubhood days. And then there's Kion. Being fierce and witty himself, she instantly had a genuine liking towards him the moment he introduced himself to her a few days after her Outsider pride had moved in to the Pridelands. But yet, as the elderly gazelle pointed out, she very rarely showed sincerity and appreciation for those two most important Lions in her life.

That was something that she hated to admit. And now, ever since Kovu and Kion were now already married and having their own kids, she had become even more reclusive, as she didn't have any one else whom she's comfortable with to talk to. Thinking back about her relationship with them, she couldn't help but feel that she had been anything but selfish towards the only genuine friends she's ever had.

"Don't be afraid, young Vitani. There's still time for you to fix all this," the gazelle unexpectedly continued, snapping the Lioness from her thoughts. "You are young, you have plenty of time to change your ways and atone all the wrongs that you've done against the animals who care for you, whether you care for them in turn or not."

She raised a brow and gazed at him with hesitant eyes. "I... don't know what you're talking about." She denied untruthfully, though the gazelle saw right through her lie.

"Young child... you are stubborn. That can't be argued," he sighed. "However... when I looked into your eyes, I can tell you have a kind heart... that's unfortunately trapped under a layer of anger and hate. But... let me tell you something. Someday, Vitani, you will come across a Lion... a male, a male who's rotten and hated by everyone, but yet... just like you, has a pure heart. He will be the key... to change everything around the both of you. Both of you... will have a happy ending to your life stories. Remember this, Vitani. Always remember..."

By now, the Lioness was unsure what to make of the gazelle's words. His mentioning of this other male Lion made her wonder if he was genuinely foreshadowing her future... or he was simply being senile and was making it up. Her thoughts were once again interrupted when the gazelle started having a coughing fit while his entire body began trembling violently.

"Remember, Vitani. Remember…" he managed to wheeze before he let out his final breath and his body stopped moving all together as the life in his eyes had finally dimmed out.

Vitani hung her head as she stared at the lifeless corpse in front of her. She began contemplating what the old gazelle had just told her and very nearly forgot the main reason why she had come across him in the first place. She now had second thoughts of turning his lifeless body into the Pride's dinner, she felt that a wise animal like him shouldn't be disrespected like that. She considered spending an extra few more hours to hunt for another prey, but a quick glance around the deserted grazing grounds had unfortunately made her revert to her original plan, and so she reluctantly clenched her jaws on one of its antlers and began dragging it back towards Pride Rock.

And all the while she hauled the carcass across the savanna, the only thing running through her mind was the 'male Lion' that the late gazelle had mentioned earlier, the male Lion she would come across who was 'rotten and hated by everyone'... which was odd, considering the only male Lions within the Pridelands and the Outlands area were Simba, her brother Kovu and Kion, and all of them were nothing like the one described by the gazelle; they were practically hailed and fondly loved by all the animals around them! Maybe the old gazelle was just being senile and made it up after all? But that didn't matter now. Right now, Vitani had found herself standing at the base of Pride Rock and was faced with the next daunting task of having to haul the large carcass up to the Den.

"What the... Vitani?" Kiara exclaimed in surprise as she and several other Lioness hunters exited the den's entrance at the same time when Vitani had finally managed to heave the lifeless gazelle up the last stepping stone. "Why did you go off like that? We were worried something had happen to you!"

Vitani ignored her and continued dragging the carcass before laying it right in front of the entrance. "I decided to do you all a little favor. Save your breaths, you don't have to thank me."

"Oh... well, we were just about to finally go off for our hunt, but... well, seeing as you've already did that... uh... well... thanks anyways," Kiara awkwardly replied and tried her best to flash a small, grateful smile at her. That was how most of the conversations between the two Lionesses went. Kiara, who was mostly soft-spoken, always felt uncomfortable and sometimes even threatened when conversing with Vitani, as the latter had a tendency to add a snarky remark or two to her words that will eventually leave Kiara silently hurt inside.

Not paying any more attention to them, Vitani turned and headed towards the Rock's pinnacle, much to Kiara, and some of the Lionesses' relief. Once there, she sat on her haunches and observed the view of the entire Pridelands spread before her. And there, she spent the next few minutes replaying the old gazelle's final words to her in her mind for the second time that day. Only this time, she focused on the part where he said about her having the time to 'atone all her wrongs' that she's done against those who cared for her. She didn't deny that she was guilty of that... but maybe the gazelle was right? Maybe it was time for her to change her ways and be a little more... caring to everyone else around her and not just be grouchy (and as a result, lonely) all the time. Of course, that itself posed a challenge of its own, since old habits die hard. But still, she had to start somewhere.

Then, she saw her chance to start afresh when she noticed the figure of a familiar red-maned Lion heading towards Pride Rock, trudging heavily on the grass.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kion silently made his way up the stepping stones, thinking about everything that had happened between him and Kopa earlier. His mind fired question after question that desperately needed to be answered ever since he left the Backlands; why did Kopa suddenly become antagonistic towards him in the end? Why didn't Simba or Nala ever told him and Kiara about Kopa? Why didn't...

"Kion..."

The young Lion was snapped from his thoughts when he heard Vitani's familiar voice call out to him just as he climbed the last stepping stone. "What? Oh, hey 'Tani..." he replied in a tired voice, his mind was still preoccupied with all the questions that were running through his head.

"Kion, I..." Vitani began. "I was wondering if I could have a word with you... in private?"

But her friend responded by letting out a sigh and looked apologizingly towards her.

"Vitani... I'm really sorry. I'm tired and I have a lot of things running in my head right now, so I think we should do this some other time. I hope you understand," he said in one single breath and proceeded to head for the entrance without waiting for a reply, leaving Vitani to stare after him with a bitter scowl on her muzzle.

 _Hmph... so much for starting afresh_ , she grumbled to herself before leaving the vicinity.

 **XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Kion stopped halfway through the den's common area and observed his surroundings. He could see Mwamba, gleefully playing with Hasina along with two other Lionesses in one corner, his sister Kiara and another group of Lionesses handling the pride's dinner at another, his parents were sprawled on a ledge overlooking the den and were observing Mwamba below them... and there, in the middle of the common area right in front of him, was Fuli. She was currently laying on her side and was noticibly in a deep and peaceful sleep.

After spending the entire morning and afternoon greeting and welcoming the hundreds visiting animals who came to congratulate her, and especially after consuming the _clitoria ternatea_ leaves Kovu had brought to her (which, according to Rafiki, caused drowsiness as a side-effect once consumed), it was no wonder the pregnant Cheetah had absolutely no energy left and immediately fell into her deep slumber the moment the last group of visiting animals had left Pride Rock.

Kion approached his sleeping mate but was stopped when Kovu suddenly came into his view in front of him. " _Kion! There you are_!" he called out to the younger Lion in a whisper, so as to not wake the sleeping Cheetah up. " _What took you so long? I was already thinking of gathering a search party to go look for you! What happened_?"

Kion let out a sigh and led Kovu to a corner, away from Fuli. " _Yeah, sorry about that. I err... discovered something interesting along the way and lost track of time_." He whispered untruthfully, though Kovu apparently didn't seem to buy it.

" _Yeah, yeah I'm sure you did_." He said disbelievingly. " _Anyways, did you find anymore of those flowers_?"

" _Does it look like I found any_?"

" _Ha! I guessed as much..." Kovu grinned teasingly at Kion, much to the latter's annoyance. "Anyways, Rafiki said that the flowers that we gathered are already more than enough to last her a few days, so... heh, I hate to tell you this, but you've pratically wasted five hours of your life looking for flowers that you didn't need_."

" _Gee, thanks for the added info_ ," Kion replied in a bemused tone before promptly returning to Fuli, leaving behind a smirking Kovu to chuckle to himself before he decided to join Kiara and the other Lionesses.

Kion went over to Fuli and gently rested his muzzle on the nape of her neck. And all the while after he was comfortably rested against his sleeping mate, his gaze was focused on his parents, who were still resting on the ledge and observing his son. He had a burning desire to approach and ask them about them Kopa the moment he stepped into the den, but yet, for some unknown reason, he felt very reluctant to confront them about it at the same time. Maybe he was worried of how badly his aging parents would take the fact that they had abandoned and neglected one of their sons, who now, as a result, held a massive grudge against them? Or maybe it's because everything felt so smooth and perfect at the moment that he didn't want to ruin it by bringing up something from the past? He really couldn't tell.

The rest of the evening went by faster than he imagined. Fuli eventually woke up at sunset and the rest of the Pride immediately settled for the dinner that Vitani had caught for them earlier immediately afterwards. Much to everyone's surprise, however, Vitani refused to take a single bite of the gazelle meat that was being served, and instead, proceeded to head outside and spent the rest of the night at the peak of Pride Rock in complete isolation.

Simba and Nala, on the other hand, remained mostly quiet throughout their dinner, which also surprised the other inhabitants of Pride Rock, as the King and Queen were usually the ones to strike up a friendly conversation amongst the Pride members every dinner time. As a result, everyone else remained silent, since it was considered offensive to speak during Dinnertime unless a conversation was initiated by the King or Queen. Kion noticed this and even wondered if something had happen while he was away in the Backlands.

And so, after a quiet and rather awkward dinner, Kion and his family bid their goodbyes to the Pride and made their way to their den, a couple of miles away from Pride Rock. After spending almost the entire day playing and goofing off with Hasina, Mwamba was the first to succumb into his slumber the moment he arrived at his usual sleeping corner. Meanwhile, his adoptive parents settled down a few feet away from him, near the entrance of the den. After managing to gain a solid three-hour nap from earlier, Fuli had plenty of energy to spoil her Lion mate with her affection that night, as she nuzzled comfortably against his lush, amber mane and passionately groomed the fur on his muzzle with her tongue, purring contentedly as she did so.

And yet, after minutes of licking and nuzzling, it was soon very clear to her that her mate was very much preoccupied with something on his mind, as he hadn't returned her affection nor utter a single word of compliment to her as he usually would when she did so. Instead, he simply stared at the moonlit savanna outside through the entrance while remaining completely still as if he were a statue.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Fuli finally decided to ask, as she got bored of giving affection to her mate and not getting any in return.

"Nothing, dear. Everything's fine..." Kion trailed off almost monotonously, making it easier for the Cheetah to see through his lie.

"Come on, you can do way better than that!" she chuckled teasingly and gave her mate a friendly nudge. "You can always tell me what's going on in your mind! Unless, of course, you're planning to say that you're thinking of another Lion that's currently stuck in your head."

For a wild moment, Kion mistakenly thought that she was talking about Kopa, which, of course, would be an impossibility as he was the only one who had knowledge of his long-lost brother's existence. Luckily, he was able to stop himself from expressing shock when he realized (judging by her stern voice when she said her last sentence) that she probably meant another _female_ Lion. In short, she was questioning whether his quietness meant that he was being seduced by the image of another Lioness that was going on in his mind.

"No, no, of course it's not that, dear," he replied reassuringly, hoping it was convincing enough to avoid an argument (and also preserve his marriage). "It's just... a bit of a family problem that I'm having."

"Our family?"

"Yes... but not specifically _us_."

Fuli understood which _family_ he was referring to, which immediately led her to make the assumption that whatever it was that got her mate in such a disturbed state, probably had something to do with the silent and awkward dinner that they had with the rest of his family back at Pride Rock.

"Hey... whatever it is that's eating at you, you know that I'll always be on your side, right?" she purred, nuzzling and snuggling against his mane once again.

This time, Kion took notice and he couldn't help himself from returning her affection by giving a few passionate licks to a particular spot on her forehead, much to Fuli's utter pleasure and delight.

"Of course, I know that," he whispered softly into her right ear in a husky voice, causing Fuli to bit her lip as a pleasuring tingling sensation to spread across her spine. Kion smiled when he saw the naughty grin spread across her lips right after he said that. "But err... I think it's best that you don't get involve in this um... particular family matter." He continued in a slightly firmer voice.

"TOO LATE! SHE'S ALREADY KNEE-DEEP INTO IT!"

Both Lion and Cheetah gasped when they looked up and saw that the thundering voice belonged to a brown-maned Lion that had suddenly appeared at the entrance out of nowhere, staring menacingly at them with a growl.

In half an instance, Kion sprang to his fours, unsheathed his claws and bared his teeth before putting himself between Fuli and the intruder to protect his mate.

"Kopa?! What the Hell are you doing here?!" He cried out with a threatening growl at his elder brother.

Kopa appeared to be unfazed by this as he calmly sat on his haunches and observed his little brother and his... Cheetah mate, who was now also on her fours with bared teeth and claws unsheathed as she posed herself in a defensive stance just behind her husband.

"Well, Kion. I came here because I believe you have something- or rather, someone... who belongs to me," Kopa responded in a dangerously calm voice as he trailed his gaze from the snarling couple to the little Lion cub who was sleeping in the other corner.

Fuli instantly realized where the intruder had laid his eyes on and instinctively rushed over towards Mwamba, using her own body to shield her adoptive son who was still sleeping soundly in his deep slumber.

"What are you talking about Kopa? And how'd you find me here?" Kion sternly growled as he went over and stood just a few feet away from Mwamba and Fuli, again, putting himself between his family and the hostile Lion.

"Hmmm... well believe it or not, _baby brother_ , it just so happened that a little birdie told me exactly where you and your darling wife lived just a few minutes ago," Kopa replied in a mocking tone.

Then, as if on cue, the sound of fluttering of wings could be heard echoing throughout the den, just as a particular silky-black raven flew in before landing and perching itself on Kopa's head. "Rudo the Raven, at your service," the avian said in a deep voice with a distinct (and unusual) British accent, solemnly bowing his head at Kion before taking off and flying out of the den.

Kion's fiery eyes were immediately filled with rage the moment he saw the bird. This was the same filthy raven he saw circling above him as he was leaving the Backlands earlier that evening! Now he knew how Kopa found out where he lived; the raven served as his personal spy.

"Don't put any blame on Rudo, he was just doing what I instructed him to do," Kopa warned Kion after noticing the raging look in his eyes when the raven flew in.

He then looked past Kion's shoulder to aim his glare towards Fuli. "You, Cheetah! Let me ask you something... is it true that you found that cub in the Backlands? More specifically... near the vicinity of the Mukuni Woods?"

Kion's eyes widened the moment he heard the familiar name of the woodlands he had ventured into during the day and instantly turned around to face his mate. Fuli worriedly looked back at him and slowly gave him a single nod, much to Kion's dismay. The fact that she had found Mwamba near the very same forest where Kopa had lived, and who was also the only Lion resident in that area meant only one thing;

"There we are. Now that we all know that that cub is my son, please hand him over to me," Kopa said triumphantly.

"Now, hold on a second! You never told me you were married! So how'd you conceive the cub, then?" Kion blurted out in an attempt to prevent him from taking Mwamba.

"Well, unlike you, Kion, I _was_ married to a Lioness during my time in the Backlands. That's how we conceived little Reth together, until my former-mate left me and stole my son with her," he admitted, scowling furiously at the painful memory.

By now, Fuli was completely lost at everything that unfolded before her, but she noticed that her mate seemed to know exactly what was going on.

"The cub's name is Mwamba, and seeing as my mate and myself raised him together since he was an infant, that makes him our son." Kion growled, trying to remain calm as he flashed his fangs at the brown-maned Lion.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! That's practically my blood that's flowing through his veins right now! He's my son, my biological son! I'm warning you, Kion! Give him to me or else..."

Kopa began seething furiously when his brother shook his head and said a firm, "No."

"Very well. I warned you, Kion. Since you won't give... I'LL TAKE!"

Before Kion could react, Kopa unsheathed his claws and struck Kion squarely on his face, leaving five sets of straight, bloodied lines that slashed across his left eye and downwards to his nose. Kion let out a pained growl but was able to recover quickly. Furious, the young red-maned Lion launched himself towards Kopa and instantly pinned down the older Lion to ground, sinking his claws into the flesh of his shoulders after catching him completely by surprise. Fuli's breathing raced as she watched her mate angrily grapple on to Kopa while the latter squirmed in pain beneath him, both Lions snarling furiously at each other at the same time.

"I'm giving you a chance, Kopa. Leave and never return here again," Kion warned, slightly easing his claws off from his shoulders.

To his surprise, Kopa merely responded by giving a sly smile before using a hind leg to deliver a powerful kick towards Kion's lower abdomen, causing him to groan in pain before Kopa easily flung him off from his body. Once again, Kion was able to recover and got back up again. Both Lions were on their fours and have begun circling each other, snarling dangerously as they waited for either one of them to strike first.

Fuli could do nothing more but hold on tighter to a still-sleeping Mwamba and pray that her mate would survive the vicious battle as the victor. Being a Cheetah and a smaller feline, interrupting a fight between two Lions was nothing more than a death-wish, even when one of the Lions is her mate. That was the unwritten rule of Nature.

But before either Lions could even make a move, their stand-off was miracously interrupted when the sound of rapid flapping of wings echoed throughout the den for the second time that night.

"Sir! Sir! I spotted three bogeys heading this way! Hippo, Honeybadger and Egret!" Rudo warned his master in a panicked tone.

Kopa let out an annoyed grunt and glared harder at his snarling brother in front of him. "Kion... you've made it very clear to me that you... are my enemy. You're not a brother, you're not my friend. I'm warning you, I still want my son back. You have until tomorrow evening to hand him over to me at the border. If I still don't get my son back by sunset, rest assured... I'll do anything to take him away from you... even if it means having to kill you."

Having said his final threat, Kopa promptly turned and fled from the den, with Rudo flying behind him. Kion stared after at the den's entrance for a few moments, still rather shaken, before walking over to Fuli and Mwamba to make sure they're okay. Fuli shed a tear of greatfulness, she was glad that her mate wasn't too badly injured (or worse) as Kion nuzzled assuringly against her side.

"Fuli..." he began, staring into her tear-filled amber eyes. "I think there's some things I have to tell you..."

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Whew! That was the longest chapter I've ever written for any of my stories! Hope you guys enjoyed this one! My chapters are still unbeta-ed yet, so if you spot any mistakes, please inform me. Also, please don't forget to leave a review on your thoughts of this chapter and I wish you all a pleasant day ahead! :D**


	8. Confrontations

**Chapter 8: Confrontations**

 **A/n** : **Before I go any further, I'd like to apologize in advance if there's a reduction of quality in terms of writing for this chapter. I'm currently going through some personal and emotional problems, and so I wrote this chapter as a way to let go of some of the stress. Again, I apologize in advance and would like to thank everybody who's supported me throughout my story.**

"Hey, Kion! We're just about to get ready for night patrol and- oh..." Bunga cheerfully called out just as he and the other three members of the Guard entered the couple's den... until they all had a good glimpse of their leader, that is.

Seeing the fresh, bloodied scar across Kion's face and Fuli completely in tears as she faced her mate, the first thought that came to their mind was that they had just unfortunately stumbled upon the scene of a domestic altercation that took place between the young couple.

"Oops! Err... sorry, Kion. We uh... we didn't mean to interrupt things between you and Fuli," Bunga hastily said with a nervous laugh as he and the other three quickly turned around to leave.

Realizing their thoughts, Kion quickly jumped in front of them and blocked their way. "Wait, Bunga! It's not what you guys think, that's not what happened!" he blurted out defensively.

"Okay... so, what _did_ happen then? How'd you get that scar, Kion?" Beshte inquired, raising a brow at his leader.

"I uh..." Kion began, staring uneasily towards the ground. Finally, he sighed, "Look, it's a very long story, and I'd rather tell you guys some other time. But right now, I need you guys to do me a favor. I know I promised I'll be joining you for patrol tonight, but something's happened just now, and I have to bring Fuli and Mwamba back to Pride Rock. Meanwhile, you three carry on with night patrol as usual. Only this time, I need you guys to focus more on the area near the Backlands' border. You catch any intruder coming into the Pridelands, you let me know. I'll be at Pride Rock. Understood?"

"You got it, Kion! Come on, guys, you heard him!" Bunga exclaimed, naturally willing to do anything his best friend tells him to do without asking questions, though Ono and Beshte were rather skeptical of their leader's unusual orders. Still, they were convinced that there had to be a good reason for him to give such orders, and so they both nodded and promptly followed behind after Bunga, who had already shot out of the den.

"Why didn't you just tell them what happened? They could've helped us!" Fuli silently hissed at Kion, after making sure the trio were well away from the den.

"They already are helping us. Didn't you hear the orders I gave them?" Kion sighed rather tiredly, as he walked past her and towards Mwamba, who, surprisingly, was still peacefully sleeping at his corner.

Fuli let out an annoyed grunt, not satisfied with her mate's response. "Kion, please. Can you just truthfully tell me... what the Hell is going on?!"

Kion paused for a few seconds but then merely shook his head before proceeding to pick the still-dozing Mwamba up by the scruff and walking over to gently place him on Fuli's back. "Look, honey... after everything that's happened just now... we have to go back to Pride Rock tonight. Okay? I'll explain everything you need to know along the way."

Fuli let out a sigh but reluctantly agreed with her mate. Together, they left their den and headed towards Pride Rock, with Mwamba deep in his slumber as he lay on his adoptive mother's back, while Kion explained to Fuli everything that happened to him that day, starting from when he fell into the giant sinkhole in Mukuni Woods to the part where Kopa angrily shooed him away from his home after he invited the out-casted Lion to come back into the Pridelands.

"Wow... I can't believe that jerk is somehow related to you," Fuli commented with a frown, as she and Kion carefully made their way up the stepping stones of Pride Rock that was dimly illuminated by the partially-obscured Moon.

"Yeah, I know... he wasn't like that at first," Kion sighed as he led the way. "I just hope my parents can provide some answers, and hopefully some solutions as well..."

They eventually arrived at the Pride's den and looked around. All the Lioness hunters were soundly sleeping away in a group at the common area while Kovu, Kiara and Hasina were seen sleeping together as a family in a separate corner. And overlooking the entire den was a particular ledge where Simba and Nala were seen laying on and were apparently asleep.

"I'll go and talk to them. Meanwhile, you and Mwamba can stay here in the common area," Kion whispered to Fuli, who, in turn, nodded and proceeded to settle herself and Mwamba down. As Kion silently crept past the Lioness hunters to approach his parents, neither he nor Fuli realized that one of the Lionesses, who was laying down at the furthest corner of the common area, had heard them coming in and was currently spying on them through the corner of her eye while pretending to be asleep.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Simba let out a silent sigh as he lay sprawled out across the ledge. Unlike his Queen, who was peacefully sleeping soundly by his side, his boggled mind prevented him from getting even a minute of sleep. Eversince his unexpected realization of Mwamba's resemblence to Kopa earlier that morning, he and Nala had spent the rest of the day silently fretting over their first-born son's actual fate. Simba's mind was so preoccupied with all his troubled thoughts, he didn't even notice the sound of silent paw-steps making its way towards him and Nala.

" _Pssst! Dad_!"

Simba nearly jumped out of his fur when he heard the sound of somebody hissing at him when he knew he was the only one in the den who was awake. He instantly leapt onto his fours with claws unsheathed and barred teeth, snarling and preparing to face with the possible intruder... only to see his own son staring solemnly at him with a raised brow.

"Kion? What are you doing here?" the old King whispered his question with surprise and bewilderment by his son's unexpected presence.

Nala stirred in her sleep and was eventually woken up by the silent commotion. She groggily opened her eyes and immediately sat up with shock when she saw the three scars that slashed across her son's face. "Kion?! My goodness, what happened? Who did that to you?"

Kion sighed and momentarily stared at the ground before returning his solemn gaze back onto his parents. "It was Kopa."

He paused and silently observed their reactions. As he predicted, both of them were completely spellbound the moment he mentioned that name, and he could see it by how they stared at him widening eyes and gaping mouths.

"How do you know about him?" Simba finally asked in a noticably shaky voice after recovering from his shock.

"I met him at Mukuni Woods in the Backlands, Dad. He told me about how he fell into a sinkhole while on his first hunt, how you two abandoned him and left him to die in that hole... and just half an hour ago, he came to my den, attacked me and claimed that Mwamba is actually his son," Kion replied in one breath, slightly raising his voice in subtle anger. "I just wanna know... is it true you abandoned him?"

Simba flinched, as if those two questions had caused a great deal of physical pain towards him. Nala sighed and decided to answer for her mate.

"We didn't abandoned him. We couldn't get to him because he was buried under so much rubble... and the hole was just too deep for us to go in." She began, her voice noticably shaky as several tears were shed from her azure-blue eyes. "Zazu was with us and we asked him to fly down and search for him... but even he couldn't find our son under so much Earth and debris."

The elderly Lioness paused to hold back her tears before she continued,"We couldn't do much after that. We heard the sound of several other animals approaching us and... we didn't how many animals were approaching and... we didn't know if they were hostile or not. We feared we were ambushed... so we had no choice but to retreat back into the Pridelands."

Kion let out a disappointed after his mother finished her explanation. At this point, he felt he couldn't blame Kopa for claiming that Simba and Nala had abandoned him... but at the same time, he couldn't really blame his parents for fearing for their lives and fleeing the scene. As Royals and rulers of the Pridelands, they often become targets by other ambitious, power-hungry animals whenever they stepped outside the safe borders of their kingdom.

"We came looking for him that same night, along with several Lionesses as back-up," Simba continued quietly, though his gaze remained fixed towards the ground. "We used some of the vines from surrounding trees to go inside the hole and search for him. We spent hours digging and searching for him... but we couldn't find him. That was when... we gave up hope. We thought some other wild animal had found him and..."

He couldn't bring himself to carry on with his sentence. He paused to take a deep breath. "We... we couldn't live with ourselves after that. We mourned him for weeks, months... we couldn't even conduct a proper funeral for him because we couldn't even find his body..."

Kion nodded silently as he finally began to see the whole picture. "Mum... Dad... I think it's only fair that I tell you Kopa's side of his story."

And for the next ten minutes, he carefully related back to them everything that Kopa had told him earlier in the day; how Lema the Leopard and Kito the Klipspringer had rescued him from the hole, how he temporarily suffered memory loss while Kito and Lema raised him... and most importantly, how he stumbled upon Kiara's presentation ceremony and instantly regained his memory, and how he felt betrayed and abandoned as a result immediately after that.

Once he finished, he sat and observed his guilt-ridden parents. They've been shifting uneasily throughout the entire time he explained to them, and he knew they had a very good reason to be that way. Finally, Simba spoke, "Kion... whatever it is that you've just told us... I think it's best that your sister doesn't know about it."

"Why? With everything that's happened today, she's bound to know about Kopa sooner or later," Kion asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, that's something I can't deny. But you have to understand something... it's because of Kiara, Kopa felt he had been replaced and abondoned. And because of Kopa... it's because of him, I... I was restrictive and overprotective with your sister. So you see, I don't want either of them to express physical rage when the time comes they finally meet each other."

Kion nodded, understanding his father's logic. "Okay. So... what're you gonna do when the time comes they do eventually meet?"

"I'll think of something. I hope to come with a solution that'll hopefully clear the air between you, Kiara and Kopa. I don't want my children to turn against each other because of my mistake. But right now, the more important issue that we have to tend to right now is protecting you, Fuli and Mwamba."

"Oh... right, I forgot about that," Kion groaned, forgetting the main purpose why his family came to Pride Rock in the first place.

"Don't worry, son. For now, I think you and your family would be safe with us until tomorrow. Did Kopa say he'll be coming back?"

"Yeah. He said he'll come to my den tomorrow night to 'collect' Mwamba from me if I don't hand him over to him in the Backlands by sun-down."

"Okay. I think I have an idea how to solve this. You and your family will have to hide out somewhere while your mother and I will face with Kopa."

"Are you sure, Dad? Kopa's dangerous when he's hostile, you know."

"Let me worry about that. You just do what I tell you to do... and everything will be fine. But remember, whatever we're doing after this... your sister must never know about it."

Kion paused to consider his father's words. "Alright, fine." He sighed, reluctantly agreeing with Simba's plans. "So... how are we going to do this?"

"Okay. Follow me."

Together, Simba, Nala and Kion silently made their way down the ledge and towards the group of sleeping Lionesses in the common area. Simba silently and carefully woke up four specific Lioness hunters, who groggily woke up and immediately straightened their postures when they realized that their King was seeking for them. He silently whispered to them some orders before making his way towards Fuli and Mwamba.

" _Fuli. Kion will be joining us for awhile to discuss for a possible solution to your... complications with Kopa. But in the meantime, you and Mwamba will be safe here in the den. I've intructed two of the Lionesses to look after you and Mwamba while we're gone._ " He whispered solemnly to the Cheetah.

Fuli nodded and bowed respectfully before him. " _Understood. Thank you so much for helping us, Your Highness._ "

With that, Simba turned and silently walked out from the den, with Nala, Kion and two of the Lionesses following right behind him while the other two Lioness hunters stayed back to make sure nothing happens to Fuli and Mwamba, and the other inhabitants of Pride Rock.

Kion said nothing as his father led them down from Pride Rock and headed towards noth-east from there. They trudged carefully across the surrounding grasslands as their journey was only guided by the faint moonlight that dimly illuminated the savanna. All the while as they walked, they failed to notice the dark silhouette of an animal stalking closely a few feet behind them.

Kion guessed they have arrived at their destination when his father stopped at what appeared to be a strange little cave that erected from the ground in the middle of the giraffes' Acacia grazing grounds. "Whose cave is this?" He asked.

"This cave, Kion, was once Scar's personal hideout," Simba answered. He noticed the surprised look on his son's face and proceeded to elaborate further,"Scar and Mufasa regularly fought with each other throughout their teen and pre-adulthood years after Mufasa was chosen to be the heir. So everytime Scar lost an argument to Mufasa, he would retreat into this small cave and spend hours sulking away alone. At least, that was what your grandfather told me back when I was a cub."

This was something Kion hadn't expected. He had passed by this particular cave quite a number of times during his patrol over the years, he never expected it to somehow be related to Scar, the very Lion he prayed he would not turn out to become.

Not waiting any further, Simba walked ahead and led the group inside the rock formation. The moment they stepped inside the threshold, they were instantly greeted by a strong, pungent smell that lurked around the small den area of the cave, as if it served as an ugly memory of the long-deceased inhabitant that used to live in there.

"Ugh! What is this smell?!" Kion exclaimed, holding his breath to prevent from inhaling the foul odour.

"I wish we had an answer for that, son," Nala answered with a cringe, visibly disturbed by the smell as well.

"Whatever the smell is, I'm afraid you and your family will just have to bear with it for a few hours while we confront with Kopa." Simba said rather sternly. "This cave is the nearest hide-out to Pride Rock that we know of. So if anything does go wrong while you're hiding here, at least you're not too far away from help. Asha and Bahati here will be with you and your family as well.

Kion let out a disgruntled sigh as he finally accepted his fate. He knew this was probably the only way to make sure he doesn't lose his mate and adoptive son, even if it means if they have to suffer for hours in this smelly, narrow cave that could barely fit five Lions inside.

"Well... I guess I don't have much of a choice," he grumbled under his breath. "So are we done here or do we have to spend another minute in this Hell-hole?"

"You may go, son. I just wanted to make sure that you're familiar with my plan before anything happens." Simba smiled good-humoredly at Kion's eagerness to leave. "Unfortunately, there's still a few things I'd like to settle with you three here. So please just bear with me for a few minutes," he continued, aiming his gaze at Nala and the two Lioness hunters, much to their silent disappointment.

Kion didn't waste another second to shoo himself out from the cave. He took a huge gasp of air the moment his paws left the threshold and spent the next few minutes trying to forget the smell of the stench that was still stuck in his mind.

 _Ugh... tomorrow's gonna be a long day_ , he silently grumbled to himself before proceeding to walk ahead to get back to Pride Rock.

He walked a good several feet away from the cave when he suddenly heard the sound of the crunching of leaves somewhere behind him. He paused and turned to look around... but saw no-one else in sight. Keeping his senses on full alert, he took a few more steps forward, but promptly jumped around again when he heard the crunching noise getting closer behind him. Convinced he was being followed, he immediately unsheathed his claws and slowly approached the approximate area where he thought he heard the sound had originated from.

"Who's there?!" he called out sternly with bared teeth and prepared himself to face off with a possible hostile enemy.

" _Just me_!"

"AARGHHH!"

Kion was very much taken completely by surprise when he heard a feminine voice answer his question but managed to recover from the shock and turned to threateningly face the owner of the voice... only to see a familiar Lioness smirking teasingly at him while hiding behind a nearby Acacia tree to his left.

"VITANI?! Gosh, you nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing out here, anyways?!" Kion blurted out, very much annoyed and unamused by the Lioness sudden appearance.

"You know, you really should stop being so panicky all the time, Kion," Vitani casually said in a teasing manner as she calmly made her way towards him while still bearing the smirk on her lips. "Anyways, I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I uh... I couldn't help overhearing you telling your... sibling problem to Simba and Nala back at our den just now."

Kion's eyes widened with dread as she told him this. "Oh gosh... were we really talking _that_ loud?" he groaned, mentally berating himself for not speaking softer back at that ledge.

"Meh, it was _rather_ loud. Well, to me anyways," she coolly responded, purposely trying to cause more anxiety to her friend. "But I don't think it was loud enough for Kiara to hear. She is a heavy sleeper after all."

Kion let out a long groan and sank to the ground. The very words she used told him that she practically heard everything that was said when he confronted his parents... and he knew that by right, that wasn't supposed to happen. "I guess you know everything that's going on now, huh? Including my father's plans for Kopa?"

"Yup, everything single thing!" She proudly declared with a teasing grin. "Except for that last part. I didn't really know what you guys were up to until I crept out of the den and tailed behind you. But you don't have to worry about that, Kion. You know I'm not the sort to blabber out secret information to just about anyone, right?"

"Err... yeah... I guess you've got a point," Kion sighed, standing back up on his fours again.

He then turned behind to gaze at the hide-out that was now some distance away from them. Vitani saw this and stood beside him, following the direction of his gaze. Both said nothing as they stared at the miserable rock formation that was supposed to be Kion's only line of defense when Kopa comes looking for him tomorrow night.

"So... Kion, I'm just wondering... how exactly did that long-lost brother of yours find your den when he's never set a paw into the Pridelands' after so many years?" Vitani finally asked, breaking the silence around them.

"Kopa sent this... raven to spy on me. That bird must have followed me back into the Pridelands after Kopa shooed me out," Kion grumbled, frowning bitterly at recalling Rudo the Raven accompanying Kopa when they both invaded his den a couple of hours ago.

He turned to face Vitani again, but was surprised when she shot him a questioning look. "Uh... 'Tani? Everything alright?"

The Lioness gazed momentarily at the rock formation before looking back at her friend. "Kion... I'm sorry to say this... but I don't think it's a good idea for you, or your non-biological son for that fact, to hide in there tomorrow night. I just saw a raven circling above that cave while you guys were in there just now."

"Wait, what?! Are you sure it was a raven that you saw?!" Kion nearly shouted, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Well... why don't you judge for yourself? He's still circling above the cave right now."

Kion instantly made his way to a nearby clearing and peered upwards towards the night sky. True enough, he clearly saw for himself the silhouette of a particular bird flying about above the rock formation several hundred feet in the air, its glossy black feathers gleamed under the beam of the now fully-visible Full Moon. Kion watched as it circled a few times before flying off towards the direction of the Backlands.

"Grrr... that _Rudo_ ," Kion furiously spat out the bird's name as if it were a profanity.

He sulkily grumbled his way back to Vitani, who was not at all surprised by the irritated look on his face. "So... what now?" She asked. "You're not gonna hand over Mwamba to that wretched Lion are you?"

"No, absolutely not! That's out of the question, and you should know that!" Kion almost shouted his answer out of frustration.

"Well in that case, I certainly hope you have a back-up plan for this, Kion. That wacko brother of yours is gonna easily hunt you down and kill you if you don't come up with something else," Vitani commented with a rather stern look.

But her stern look quickly turned to a look of confusion when she saw Kion staring hard at her, as if he were under some sort of spell.

"You know what, 'Tani? I think that's not such a bad idea..." He finally said in an unusually calm tone that was accompanied with an equally unusual smile.

For once, Vitani felt spooked. Judging by the strange look that he was giving her and atop the his ridiculous and shocking response, she feared that her friend was slowly losing himself.

"Vitani... you're my friend, and friends help each other in times of need, right? Well, I need your help on this one. Just this once... please?" Kion asked, almost as if he's begging her.

"And... what sort of help do you need from me?" Vitani cautiously inquired, wondering if he was still mentally sound when he asked his question.

"Okay. Listen close..."

He proceeded move closer to her and whispered something into her ear. And as he softly spoke his words in his whisper, an uneasy frown slowly began forming on Vitani's muzzle.

"Wait, hold on, let me get this straight. YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT?!" she blurted out in horror once he finished whispering into her ear.

"Pleeeaasee?" Kion begged with large puppy eyes, hoping it would persuade her with whatever it was that he asked her to do.

 **To be continued...**


	9. Change of Plans

**Chapter 9: Change of Plans**

As the rising Sun slowly emerged from the horizon that marked the beginning of a new day for the animals of the African savanna, a particular glossy-black raven was seen swooping across the clear skies and seemed to be headed towards the directions of the thick forests of the Mukuni Woods in the Backlands. He skillfully flew across the foliage, dodging past tree branches and dangling vines before slolwly descending his altitude the moment he arrived at a particular clearing in the middle of the Woods, where a Lion, a Klipspringer and a Leopard were seen waiting for his arrival.

"So? Did you get anything?" Kopa asked once the raven settled onto the ground.

"Well... you were right, boss," Rudo said in his posh, British accent while mopping his head with a wing in exhaustion from his long flight. "Spent the entire night surveilling your um... brother... and you were right, it appears he's not even considering of meeting you at the borders this evening... as you so rightfully predicted."

"I need more than that, Rudo. Tell me everything he did and every word he spoke. I need the information!" Kopa ordered rather sternly, though this was already anticipated by the Raven.

"Alright, so... here's what's happened..."

With that, Rudo dully reported everything he saw from the night before to the three other animals, who listened attentively to the Raven. He revealed to them that he had managed to stealthily fly undetected into the den of Pride Rock at the same Kion, Fuli and Mwamba entered there. He related of how he hid himself in an overhead crevice above Simba and Nala's ledge and was able to eavesdrop on Kion's conversation with his parents.

Kopa momentarily clenched his jaws in anger when the Raven went into the details of their exchange, particularly at the part where Simba had said that he wanted to prevent Kiara from obtaining any knowledge of his very existence. Rudo went on and further described how Kion and his parents later quietly left the den with two Lioness hunters and headed towards Scar's old hideout while he followed them overhead, his glossy-black body naturally camouflaged him with the dark night skies above.

He then went further and explained how he faintly overheard bits and pieces of Simba explaining his plans for Kopa as he circled the small cave from above, though he later revealed that he was able to put the 'pieces' of the plan together and was able to deduce that Simba wanted Kion, Fuli and Mwamba to hide at that same cave while he and Nala confronted with Kopa.

Once he finished reporting his findings, Rudo looked around to see the others' reactions. Kito and Lema started whispering amongst themselves but eventually trained their gaze onto Kopa, who was staring at the Raven whilst deep in thought.

"So, kid..." the Klipspringer's cautious voice interrupted him. "Now that you know they ain't planning of handing back your son... should we um... pay them a lil' visit right away, or..."

The Lion pinched his lips to the side and considered his options. "No. We'll stick with the plan and wait at the borders at sunset. If they still don't show up by then, we'll pay them our visit later tonight."

The Klipspringer and Leopard exchanged glances before looking back at him. "Honey, you're still giving them a chance after all they've done to you?" Lema spoke in his usual effeminate voice.

Kopa let out a sigh and turned his attention away to stare off into the distance. "You two raised me since I was a cub, right? You should know that I always give second chances to everyone... even when I feel they don't deserve it."

He silently walked away, meaning to get some rest and prepare himself for the later part of the day, but not before he gave a few final orders for the Raven, "Rudo, you've done enough. Go back to your nest and get some rest. There's a high chance we'll need you at full strength later tonight."

"Righto, Sir!" The avian gave a solemn salute with a wing and promptly took off back into the skies, leaving only Kito and Lema to solemnly digest what their Lion companion had just said to them.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

"Yuck! What's this awful smell?!" Mwamba cried out in disgust the moment he stepped into the small cave that his adoptive parents had led him to, which, much to his distaste, had a strong, pungent odour that lurked within its threshold. "Mum! Do we really have to be here all day? This place smells like Dad's morning breath!"

"Heyyy!" Kion exclaimed, pretending to be hurt while his mate couldn't help herself from chuckling heartily at their son's comment.

"We're just going to be here for the day, and then we all can go home tomorrow morning," Fuli softly said, giving Mwamba a motherly lick on his forehead to soothe him, though she herself was having a hard time pretending she was not disturbed by the stench that surrounded them. She then placed her muzzle next to Mwamba's ear and quietly whispered, " _And besides... your father's morning breath is actually three times worst than this. So, I'm sure we can handle a few hours of this... slight odour_."

Kion gave an unamused look as mother and son snickered while looking at his direction, though of course, it was part of his pretense and he naturally joined in with their laughter. "Alright, if you're done making fun of your old man, I think it's about time for your afternoon nap, kiddo!" He finally announced enthusiastically while ruffling the young cub's head.

"Yeah... I guess you're right, Dad..." Mwamba replied with a yawn as he settled himself down onto the floor before curling himself up. Kion and Fuli followed suit and settled down next to him.

"Mum... Dad..." The young Lion called to them with a yawn and slightly droopy eyes. "Why can't Hasina join us? I don't mind suffering for hours in this place as long as she's with me so we can play all day and night..."

Fuli chuckled and nuzzled against the cub. "I'm sorry, honey... but I'm afraid Hasina will have to be with her family back at Pride Rock. We can't just whisk her away from her parents."

"Yeah? Then how come uncle Kovu isn't with her then? Even Aunt Kiara spent the entire morning looking for him..."

Fuli didn't answer him this but instead, she cautiously looked over at her mate as a signal for him to provide their curious son with a suitable reply. "Uh... you don't have to worry about uncle Kovu, kiddo, he err... he had to be away for awhile this morning to do something for Grandfather Simba," Kion said with an assuring smile, though he hoped that his spontaneous reply didn't trigger anymore questions from his son.

Luckily for him, Mwamba was actually half-asleep at that point and his drowsiness prevented him from asking further any further questions. "Oh... okay, I see..."

His parents watched as he shut his eyes and his breathing steadied as he finally gave in to the call of his slumber, much to his parents' relief. For a few minutes, nothing could be heard in the cramped little cave except for the gentle snores that escaped Mwamba's lips as he slept. Then, Fuli noticed her mate staring solemnly at their sleeping son, and the look in his eyes instantly told her that he was concerned about their adoptive cub.

"Everything okay?" Fuli quietly asked as she rested her head against Kion's amber-red mane.

He let out a sigh, but didn't turn to face her. "I... I don't know. It's just... the more I stare at our little bundle of joy... the more I realize just how much he resembles Kopa..."

Fuli said nothing and silently observed her mate. "You feel guilty... don't you," she finally spoke, this time, attracting her mate's attention. "You feel guilty because we have his son."

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it back again as he was unable to think of a proper response. He let out another long, tired sigh before burying his face between his paws. "Yeah... you're right... I do feel guilty about it. But come on... we raised the little guy for the last three months! We can't just give him back! My brother didn't even spend a day looking after his own son! Even his wife left him, for crying out loud! Doesn't that tell you what kind of animal he is? I mean... I just..."

Kion couldn't say another word as had reached at a loss of words after his minor outburst. He was just too tired to do or say anything else... and Fuli saw this. "Hey... it's okay, I'm sure everything will turn out alright after this," she soothingly assured him in a silky voice as she gave a slow lick to the side of his muzzle. "Once your plan works out, we can carry on with our lives as if nothing happened. And then... in a few months time..." She paused to hold onto his left paw before guiding it towards her stomach. "We'll welcome our second bundle of joy to the family and the Circle of Life."

This time, Kion couldn't keep from smiling at the though that their unborn cub (or cubs) would be delivered in a few months' time. He slowly gyrated his paw on the fur of her stomach as he gave Fuli several small licks on her nose, much to her utter pleasure. "Hmmmm... and maybe, a few months after that... we could uh... welcome our third... or fourth or fifth bundles of joy to the Circle of Life after that while we're still at it..." He softly suggested in a husky tone, as Fuli gave him a seductive grin before laying on her side.

"You really have a way with good ideas, dont'cha?" she cooed to him with half-lidded eyes as Kion gently placed himself on top of her. He was about to give her a flattering response when the sound of a particular sleeping Lion cub stirring in his sleep callously interrupted their 'activity'. Both Lion and Cheetah exchanged glances with each other before Kion reluctantly got off from his equally disappointed mate before settling down next to her once again.

"Not in front of the kids, huh?" He whispered, earning a mischievous grin from Fuli. They said nothing further as they both watched Mwamba snugly curled up right beside them, his afternoon siesta remained undisturbed after that.

"Fuli... can I ask you something?" Kion whispered, to which Fuli turned and noticed he bore an expression of insecurity on his face.

"Yeah, of course, Honey... anything!" she answered, concern embedded within her voice.

Kion tensed up slightly before finally asking his question, "Does my morning breath really smell that bad?"

An instant burst of a hearty laughter escaped the Cheetah's lips despite her best attempt to stifle it, and the merry sight of her in giggles brought an overwhelming sense of accomplishment for her mate. Once her laughter had eventually subsided, she comfortably snug herself deeper against his side before nuzzling against his mane, purring softly as she did so. "Kion... bad morning breath or not, I still love you till the end of the world and back again. Nothing will ever change that."

Kion smiled warmly at her as he stared into her emerald eyes before proceeding to shower her with several long licks to the tip of her muzzle, earning a satisfied purr from Fuli.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

The day went on as usual for most of the savanna's animals. Though for a certain group of animals, time seemingly whizzed by faster than usual. Mid-afternoon turned into evening and evening slowly turned into dusk. As the Sun slowly made its decent into the horizon to mark the end of another day, a certain brown-maned Lion was seen standing in the middle of a patch of bare land. This land was the Pridelands-Backlands natural border, the venue where Kopa had promised he'd wait for Kion to relinquish his long-lost biological son back to him during their confrontation from the night before. Just ahead of the piece of bare land was the Urembo meadows belonging to the Pridelands' territory, while directly behind Kopa was the Mukuni Woods that was part of Backlands, with the natural border spanning across right in the middle between these two territories.

While Kopa stood exposed and seemingly alone in the middle of the bare land, Kito and Lema were actually secretly hiding behind the cover of an old oak tree a few feet behind Kopa, just in case if anything went wrong during the rendezvous. But as the minutes went by and the Sun sank deeper into the horizon with no signs of Kion or Mwamba, both Leopard and Klipspringer heavily doubted there was going to even be a rendezvous (as they had earlier anticipated), though they were unsure if their Lion companion, who was still standing as still as a rock in the middle of the border, realized this.

Finally, after waiting for an entire hour, the evening Sun eventually slipped below the horizon and everything around them was shrouded in near-darkness, save for the light of the full Moon that faintly illuminated the wild African savanna. This time, Kopa let out a disappointed sigh as he stared towards the Acacia grounds of the Pridelands. All the while he waited there, he had hoped that his brother would come to his senses and hand his own biological son over to him at the border and avoid further conflicts between himself and Kion. Now he knew, it was all but wishful thinking on his part. He let out a furious growl, mentally berating himself for not listening to Kito and Lema's words earlier on. With a sigh, he turned around and headed back to the Mukuni Woods.

"So... kid..." Kito called out to him when he passed by their tree. "Can we go after them now?"

Kopa didn't stop to answer them but continued walking ahead. "No. We'll have to wait till midnight when we know they're asleep. But in the mean time..."

He led the Leopard and Klipspringer to a particular oak tree where Rudo could be seen relaxing in his nest on one of the branches. The moment the raven saw the trio beneath his tree, he instantly swooped down and bowed respectfully before Kopa.

"Sir. So... how'd the meeting with your um... your brother go?"

The Lion rolled his eyes and let out an annoyed grunt. "There was no meeting." He replied firmly, though the avian didn't appear to be surprised at all by this. "Rudo, I'm afraid we'll need your services again tonight. You know what to do."

"Yes, of course, Sir!" Rudo replied while giving a solemn salute before taking off into the skies. The three other animals watched his silhoutte flying past the border before disappearing within the shadows of the Acacia trees in the Pridelands' territory.

 **XXXXXXXX**

Time went by and four hours had passed. Kopa was now at the small clearing next to the lake that marked his territory which he shared with Kito and Lema. Sitting on his haunches, he silently observed his two friends in the distance prepare themselves for a potential bloody skirmish that would take place in just a few hours time.

"... that's why you have jaws. Use them to snap the enemy's neck into half..." He overheard the Klipspringer giving some combat advice to Lema in his gruff voice. "It's the most effective and humane way to end their miserable lives!"

"Does it always work?"

"Well, maybe not with a Lion, 'cause you can't see his neck properly under all that mane. But trust me, it will work with a Lioness... or a Cheetah..."

Kopa shook his head and walked off, not wanting to hear anymore of their conversation. He didn't want to admit it, but he couldn't help himself from getting second thoughts of what they were about to do after hearing what Kito said. He let out an exasperated sigh as a tiny voice in his mind screamed at him and telling him that what he's doing was totally wrong; that his dispute over the custody of his son was not at all worth killing or bringing harm to his own kin. But at the same time, another voice countered this by saying that he had given Kion a chance and even a warning that he'll come after him if he didn't hand over his son to him; and now, he had every right to kill his own brother for not fulfilling his demand and for failing to heed his warning.

He let out a groan as the two voices went back and forth in his mind, making him feel that he was starting to lose himself, but immediately straightened his posture when he heard the familiar sound of the flapping of wings that was headed towards him.

"Rudo, report! What did you see?" He called out as the Raven settled himself on the ground in front of him.

"Well, Sir, I scouted the three places of interest we discussed earlier," Rudo said, as Kito and Lema joined in and gathered around him. "So, first up, I went to your brother's private residence but coudn't find a soul in there. I couldn't even pick up a single scent in there too, so I guessed that no-one's been in there since the night before. Then I managed to sneak myself into Pride Rock and saw nothing out of the ordinary there. All the Lionesses were having their dinner and so was Simba and Nala. I didn't see your brother or his s- I mean your son! Your son! Was what I meant to say... heh-heh..."

He paused to give an apologetic smile, but Kopa merely frowned at him but motioned for him to continue with his findings. "Well anyways... I then flew towards the hideout that I scouted the night before... and..."

"And what? Did you see anything?!" Kopa snarled impatiently at the avian.

"Err... yes, in fact, Sir, I did. I saw them, your brother and his Cheetah wife. They were inside there alright."

Kopa cooled down and relaxed the moment he heard this. Rudo continued, "But uh... I have to admit, I didn't actually fly inside there to take a closer look; the cave was rather small and hollow, the sound of my wings would've echoed if I flew inside there... so I hid in the tall grass near the entrance and kept watch from there. They didn't really do much, they just... moved about within the cave and... that's about it."

"What about my son? Did you see little Reth inside there?"

"Sorry, sir... I couldn't really see him from where I was... but I'm sure he's somewhere inside there."

"Okay. That's good enough for me," Kopa finally said before turning towards his two other companions. "You two know what to do, right?"

"Yup! Just smash 'n grab and make a clean getaway, quick and easy!" Kito responded with a sadistic smile.

Kopa gave a satisfied nod and then started running off towards the Pridelands without saying another word while Kito and Lema followed closely behind him.

"Good luck, Sir! If you need my help, you know where to find me!" Rudo called out to them, though his well-wishes went unnoticed as the others were too far ahead from him.

 **XXXXXXX**

The three animals cautiously made their way into the Pridelands via the Urembo meadows while making sure to stick to the shadows and avoid meeting any other animal along the way. It took nearly half an hour for the Backlanders to stealthily navigate their way through the territory, but at long last, their patience paid off and they've finally reached the giraffes' Acacia grazing grounds, with Scar's old hideout only a few feet ahead of them. With the help of the moonlight, they could easily make out the stubby form of the small rock formation.

"Remember, Rudo said that cave is hollow, so any noise we make is sure to bounce off the walls and alert them. So stay quiet and follow my lead. Understood?" Kopa alerted them in a whisper, to which both Leopard and Klipspringer silently nodded.

Together, they slowly crept towards the cave, threading ever so lightly on the grass that surrounded it. The moment they reached its entrance, they immediately saw two figures ahead of them laying on the floor of the cave. Owing to the moonlight that flooded the cave through the entrance, they could clearly see that the figures in front of them were that of a Cheetah and Lion apparently sleeping with their backs facing towards them. Bearing a subtle smile on his maw, Kopa led the other two inside the threshold, only for them to be greeted with a foul-smelling stench that lurked in the air within the cave. Kopa cringed sourly at the smell, but he nearly let out a gasp when he saw Lema steadily turning green and looked like he was about to throw up.

Instinctively, he quickly turned and latched both his paws around the Leopard's muzzle, taking Lema completely by surprise, though he was barely able to prevent himself from letting out a yelp that will ultimately give the game away in an instant. Kopa slowly and nervously stole a glance at the cave's inhabitants and was relieved when he saw they were still sleeping and unmoved by his sudden movement. He then placed his mouth at the Leopard's ear (while still latching both paws around Lema's muzzle) and silently whispered, "If you don't want to blow this mission, I strongly suggest you make sure your dinner stays in your stomach and your mind focused on the job. Understand?"

The Leopard gave a single nod and Kopa instantly let go of his hold on him. Shaking his head, he silently proceeded and led the way towards the inter-species couple just ahead of them. Despite having the element of surprise to their advantage, Kopa's animal instincts were blaring for some reason and telling him that something was amiss, though he couldn't really tell why or what. Very unfortunately for him, though, he would soon find out for himself. The moment he and his companions were only a couple of feet away from the sleeping couple and were preparing themselves for their ambush, both Cheetah and Lion unexpectedly sat up and faced the intruders, revealing their true identities.

The Backlanders got the shock of their lives when they saw that the 'Cheetah' wasn't really a Cheetah, but was actually a Lioness with a unique tuft on her head and whose fur (with the help of a certain Mandrill's artistic skills) was cleverly painted bright yellow and dotted with black rosettes to resemble that of Fuli's while the Lion next to her was revealed to be her brother, Kovu, and whose mane was painted bright red to resemble that of Kion's.

"What's the matter, Kopa? Expecting someone else?" Vitani mockingly asked while bearing a cunning smirk on her maw.

The brown-maned Lion was very much taken aback that it took him several precious seconds to assess the situation before finally realizing what was actually going on. "IT'S A TRAP! FALL BACK, NOW!"

The three Backlanders instantly turned to head for the exit, but was instantly greeted by the sight of four snarling Lionesses along with Bunga, Beshte and Ono entering the cave and blocking their only exit route.

Kopa frowned and let out a warning growl as the Pridelanders slowly closed in on him and his accomplices.

"I'm sorry, Kopa. But I'm afraid you're not going anywhere tonight," he heard Kovu speak sternly at him, as he found himself and his companions cornered right in the middle of the cave.

 **XXXXXXXXX**

It was about an hour past midnight, and Kion was the only one who was still wide awake as Fuli and Mawamba lay asleep by his side. He let out a sigh as he looked around at the walls surrounding him that made up the cave he and his family had been staying in since morning. It was fairly small but was just wide enough to accomodate him and his family. The floor of it was actually quite comfortable to sleep on and was free of any stalactites or staglamites that could pose a threat for his young adoptive son. In short, the cave was a fairly pleasant place for them to temporarily live in, until his whole family issues had been peacefully resolved, that is. Though the only complaint that he and the rest of his family had was the rather unpleasant odour that hung in the air inside the cave. But after already spending hours inside, their noses eventually got used to the stench and there really wasn't anything left to complain about.

As Kion sat there next to his son and mate, he began thinking about his first encounter with Kopa the day before. He seemed to be such an easy-going and friendly character and he genuinely liked that side of his long-lost brother. He let out a sigh of guilt at the memory. Whatever happened after tonight will definitely be the turning point of his life, including those around him.

 _Crack!_

The Lion immediately sat up in alert when he heard movement going about just outside the cave's entrance. Fearing it might be a possible hostile intruder, he unsheathed his claws and slowly made his way towards the opening, mentally preparing himself for a possible skirmish. But when he saw the silhoutte of two familiar animals entering the cave instead, he quickly retracted his claws and eased himself before letting out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, good to see you, kid!" Timon the meerkat cheerfully greeted to him, only to be frowned at by Kion as he made a _hush!_ sound and nudging his head towards his sleeping mate and son. "Oops... sorry about that," Timon continued, only in a much softer tone of voice. "So... how's your stay at _Casa del Hakuna Matata Falls_ going on so far?"

Kion led them closer to the exit and away from Fuli and Mwamba before whispering back, "Yeah, it's great, Timon. Thank you. I uh... I'd also like to thank you for having us here despite the short notice."

"Of course, Kion! We'd gladly help any one of friends during their time of need!" Pumbaa added, making Kion feel glad to have these two animals as their family friend.

"You got that, right, Pumbaa! And guess what? Fourteen hours his family's been here and not a single complaint from any one of them. I'd say we've got ourselves another satisfied customer!"

"Uh... actually, Timon, I don't mean to rain on your parade or anything," Kion began with a subtle smile. "But uh... there is one complaint I'd like to make... though I think it's much easier for you to simply smell it instead of me having to describe it."

Timon took a quick whiff of the air and immediately reacted by shuddering violently after that. "Oh... that..." He weakly said in a strangled voice. "Sorry about that, kid. But I'm afraid that somebody had a buffet of stale grubs for breakfast in here before you guys came and couldn't stop breaking gas after that..."

Pumbaa let out a nervous laugh as the meerkat frowned disapprovingly at him while Kion simply chuckled under his breath.

"Yeah, I'm sorry for that, Kion. I uh... I hope I didn't ruin your stay or anything." The warthog apologized. "Actually, I'm still recovering from that- oh...oops! Sorry..."

Timon and Kion let out a groan and covered their noses when the warthog unintentionally let out a massive flatulence that immediately filled the entire cave with its unpleasant odour. "Oh... Pumbaa..." Timon sighed while still covering his nose. "You really need to have some control of your gas... that one was so strong, you could've played a trumpet with it!"

Kion couldn't stop from laughing heartily at their exchange, but his light moment was interrupted when he spotted a Lioness sitting on her haunches outside the cave near the entrance.

"Asha!" He called out and immediately rushed over towards her. "Please tell me you have good news."

The young Lioness hesitated momentarily before finally speaking up, "Err... actually, I bring both good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

Kion let out a sigh and considered his options. "Alright. Let's hear the good news first."

"Okay. Well the good news is, your plan went smoothly and we've successfully captured Kopa and his goons at Scar's old hideout. The others are with them as we speak."

Kion let out a sigh of relief after hearing this. "Ha! That's great, that's very great! Okay, you go back and tell them not to do anything else until I get there. I'll join you all in a few minutes after I tell Fuli the news!"

He turned around to go back into the cave but Asha leapt in front of him and blocked his path. "Yeah, um... that's actually the bad news. There uh... there's been a change of plans... and now King Simba has ordered the others to escort Kopa and his goons back to Pride Rock. And uh... he also ordered me to come and bring you and your family back at Pride Rock as well... Mwamba included."

Kion stared at her in shock and disbelief. This was certainly not part of the agreement that he made between himself and his parents earlier that day. "Did he say why?"

The Lioness shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kion. You know your father, he only gives orders on a need-to-know basis only."

Kion let out an annoyed grunt but finally decided to give in. "Alright, we'll go. Hang around here for a minute, I'll have to wake Fuli and Mwamba up," he said, half-heartedly. Asha nodded and watched as he made his way back into the cave.

 _Dad... I hope you know what you're doing..._

 **To be continued...**

 **Author's message :**

 **Thanks everyone for reading this chapter, I certainly hoped it met your expectations, or thereof at least. Anyways, I wanted to take a few minutes of your time to explain the reason for my last author's note in the previous chapter, since some of you PM'ed me and asked me what had happened. You don't have to read this if you don't want to, I don't want to bore any of my readers to death haha. Okay, just to let you guys know of a few, brief details about myself; I'm actually a twenty-years-old college student pursuing a professional accounting qualification called the Assosiation of Chartered Certified Accountants (or ACCA for short) at a local college.**

 **Now, as a young Malaysian from a middle-income family, I could never afford to study for such qualification as it is based in the UK (the weak exchange between my local currency and the Pound Sterling made it expensive), but I was blessed to receive a government scholarship to help fund my ACCA studies back in 2015. And so, I've worked hard was able to maintain the required CGPA as stated by the contract of my scholarship. Then one fine day, on Tuesday last week (18th July 2017), I received an email that was followed by a phone call from the Ministry that they '''regretfully''' had to terminate my scholarship due to lack of funds on their side.**

 **I was devastated after receiving that call. I was only a year and a half from graduating and landing my first job and I will have to abandon everything if I couldn't think of a way to pay the rest of my following semesters; I couldn't rely on my parents to pay the hefty tuition fees considering they're still supporting my four younger siblings and I didn't have anyone else to turn to for help. And so, I spent the rest of last week worrying and pondering for a solution to resolve my financial situation. And somewhere along that line, I decided to put aside my problems and simply type out the previous chapter as a way to let go of the stress, hence the last Author's Note.**

 **There is a silver lining to all this, however, and as the saying goes, when God closes one door, he opens another. Last Saturday (22nd July 2017), one of the directors of the college contacted me and explained that he's heard of my situation, along with a few other scholars who were going through the same ordeal, and was offering us to continue pursuing our ACCA at the same college with the help of a study-loan grant (which was something the college has never done before). It was nothing short of a miracle and I duly accepted the offer. It may not be a scholarship, but I'm sure as Hell not complaining about it. And with my problem finally resolved, I'd like to thank everyone who's sent me PM's wishing me well and keeping me in your prayers. I've no doubt that the miracle was a result of all your kind prayers, and for that I have to thank you all. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much :)**

 **Response to reviews from Guest**

 **This is a response to a guest reviewer who commented and even gave a few friendly suggestions on my previous chapters and also on my prequel, Forbidden Love. I don't know if you're actually the same person, but I'll assume you are. First up, I thank you so much for your positive reviews, they mean a lot to me. I've said this a few times to other users and authors as well, but I really glad that you commended me for my firm grasp of English. I always cherish such compliments from reviewers of my stories, and I'd like to take a little time to explain why.**

 **Like I said earlier, I come from a middle-income family and more specifically, we live in the rural side of town, or as we say in Malay, the _kampong_ areas. As such, everyone around me (including my family) speak little to no English at all. Eversince I've started schooling at the age of 7, I've always failed my English exams and any other subject that was tested in English, ie. Science, Chemistry, Physics etc., but I was very strong in my Malay, which was unfortunately a norm for kids and teenagers in my area. When I was 16, my family was invited to attend a distant relative's wedding in the capital city. Long story short, I was very much amazed by the other guests that were present there.**

 **They come from the higher class of society and were naturally well-versed in English. I couldn't understand much of what they were conversing amongst themselves, but picking up certain words during their conversations, I guessed they were talking about their businesses and respective investments. That was the day I realized, if I wanted to be a 'somebody', I had to be well-versed in English. A few weeks later, I bought myself a huge Merriam-Webster dictionary and began studying the words there. I started expanding my vocabulary by watching documentaries such Discovery Asia, National Geographic, History Channel etc. and writing down the words spoken to find out what each word means and how it fits in a sentence.**

 **I dedicated an entire year perfecting and learning new words and phrases, and for awhile, was even considered to be 'weird' by my peers for putting so much effort to get a firm grasp of English, but I simply ignored them and carried on. I eventually found out just how much my efforts paid off when I got the results of SPM exam (the Malaysian equivalent of O-levels/ IGCSE/ SAT test), in which I scored a B+ for my English and most of the other subjects tested in English as well. It may not be that great, but I was certainly satisfied that I didn't fail my English for the very first time of my life haha! It was also the SPM result that made me eligble for the government scholarship I mention earlier, that was when I knew; all my efforts had truly paid off. Eversince then, I continued on with my efforts of improving my English, with one of the ways was writing Lion King fanfictions on this site.**

 **Now I'm not trying to brag about myself or anything, but I'm just trying to highlight a point to all the non-native English speakers in the site to always improve your grasp of English by continuing to write your fanfics here no matter how many negative remarks it receives. I believe that these kinds of criticisms will further propel your efforts of improving your writing and language, and I have no doubts it will also make you a better person in the process as well.**

 **With nothing else being said, I hope my readers will find my short messages well and will benefit from it. I really look forward to seeing you guys in the next chapter and have a wonderful day ahead :)**

 **yingyangmaster**


	10. Kopa's Wrath

**Chapter 10: Kopa's Wrath**

Kion's heartbeat pounded heavily against his chest as he, Fuli and Mwamba made their way from Hakuna Matata Falls back to Pride Rock with Asha, the young Lioness leading the way. He couldn't help but wonder why Simba would want to bring three hostile enemies right into their very home. Well, one of those 'enemies' was his own biological son, but Kopa already made it clear the night before that he denounced his own blood family and even declared that he considered them as his enemies. And now, Kion couldn't help but wonder what was to happen to Kopa.

The brow-maned Lion and his two companions were successfully captured by the Lioness hunters, thanks to the well-deviced trap that was cleverly curated by the young leader of the Lion Guard, but now Kion himself feared that Simba would now hand down a heavy punishment to Kopa for attacking him during their confrontation the previous night, and not to mention illegally infiltrating and committing espionage in the Pridelands' territory. But could Simba really be capable of sentencing such harsh punishments to his own first-born son?

That was something he wasn't so sure. His father had always been fair and impartial when passing out his judgements and official decrees throughout his reign as ruler of the Pridelands, but there has been instances in the past where he let his emotions get ahead of him and negatively impacted his decisions as a result.

Kion heaved a heavy sigh as he tried to clear his mind from any negative thoughts. He stole a quick glance to his left to see little Mwamba timidly walking between himself and Fuli. Eventhough the young cub was kept pretty much in the dark about this entire conflict with Kopa, it was quite obvious that he sensed something significantly important is about to take place as he had not spoken a word nor made a single complaint since he was rudely woken from his deep slumber and was forced to follow his parents back to Pride Rock.

After walking for twenty long minutes, they finally arrived at the iconic kopje and began ascending the stepping stones on its side to reach the den. Just before they arrived at the entrance, Kion sped ahead and halted just before the opening. Carefully, he peeked around the corner to observe the happenings that took place in the interior of his former home. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Kopa, Kito and Lema sitting right in the middle of the common area with their backs facing the entrance while several stern-looking Lioness hunters formed a parameter around them, making sure they remained in their place until Simba and Nala arrived. Next to the Lionesses were Bunga, Beshte and Ono, along with Vitani and Kovu, both of them still in their 'disguises' from the sting operation they successfully pulled to capture the three Backlanders a half hour ago.

Kion chuckled briefly at the sight of Vitani's fur that was painted bright yellow and dotted with black rosettes. He had to admit, Rafiki certainly did a superb job in altering her appearence to make her resemble Fuli. He was glad that the stoic Lioness had agreed (albeit after much persuasion and pleading) to take part of the sting operation that he set up, though he had no doubt that Vitani won't be any more favors for him after this.

Kion continued to let his gaze linger around the den for a few more seconds when he realized that something was amiss. A frown slowly appeared on his muzzle when he noticed the absence of a particular animal who was very much responsible for complicating the conflict between Kopa and his family. Kion turned around just as Asha arrived at the top of the stepping stones with Fuli and Mwamba close behind her.

"Asha, why is it that the Lionesses only managed to capture just the three of them?" Kion whispered to her with a raised brow.

The younger Lioness appeared to be noticably confused by his question. "What do you mean? Those three were the only only ones who showed up at Scar's hideout." She replied, though slightly worried now as she was given the impression that there was another hostile enemy on the loose within the Pridelands.

"Well, what about the bird? Wasn't he with them as well?"

"What bird?"

"The raven, Rudo the Raven. He's Kopa personal spy _and_ the reason why we had to change our original plans and pull off the sting operation in the first place."

Asha momentarily stared blankly at him before finally shaking her head. "Oh... I- I'm sorry, Kion, but Kopa and his goons were the only ones who were present there. They didn't have a raven accompanying them when we captured them." She paused and continued cautiously," Will err... will this be a problem?"

Kion sighed and turned around to peek through the entrance once again, observing the three Backlanders sitting still in the middle of the den. Though Rudo wasn't exactly part of this entire conflict with Kopa, Kion felt rather uneasy at not seeing the avian being lined up with the other Backlanders and surrounded by the Lionesses, giving him some form of assurance that the winged spy won't be able to cause any further complications to the matter.

"I don't know... I just hope not," Kion sighed, taking one last peek inside. "Alright... well, might as well go in now..."

Taking a deep breath, Kion nodded to Fuli and Mwamba and together, they all walked through the entrance and into the threshold of the den. The three Backlanders turned when they heard them entering. Kopa's eyes narrowed when he saw Kion and Fuli... and the little orange-furred cub cowering right between them.

"Reth!" Kopa cried out and was about to rush towards his biological son but was instantly blocked by three snarling Lionesses who made sure he didn't get the chance to even take a step forward.

Mwamba's ears folded and he whimpered slightly in fright as he watched the brown-maned Lion growling angrily back at the Lionesses. But what Kopa said next completely stupefied him,

"Don't worry, son... I'll get you out of here and I'll take of you! I'll never ever leave you again, Reth! I promise I-"

"Quiet!" One of the three Lionesses hissed angrily as she threateningly unsheathed her claws, cutting him off and prevented him from saying anything further.

Kion and Fuli worriedly looked down towards Mwamba, who stood frozen as he stared in bewilderment at Kopa with his jaw gaped open. This was the very moment that any adoptive prents dreaded and prayed it would never come; the moment that their child found the truth that they were not his biological parents. Just then, another commotion was heard originating from another corner of the den, interrupting the brief drama that as going on as everyone faced towards the corner to see what was going on.

"Kiara, please... your father instructed us-"

"I don't care what he says! I've had enough of this, I wanna know what's going on! I want to know where Kovu's been all day and why am I treated like a prisoner in my own home the entire day and night! Why-"

Everyone watched as Kiara angrily barging through several other Lionesses who were obviously given the duty of watching over her and were trying to stop her from entering the common area, though their efforts were proven to be futile. Kiara was frozen with shock when she saw the animals around in the den. She was very much taken aback to see Kovu with his black mane painted amber-red and Vitani, who stood next to him disguised as a Cheetah. She looked towards the entrance and saw her younger brother and his family staring back towards her. But what really got her intrigued was this brown-maned Lion standing between a Klipspringer and a Leopard while being surrounded by the snarling Lionesses and the other members of the Guard.

"What's going on? Who is he?" She asked sternly, demanding for an answer.

Of course, none of her subordinates dared to provide an answer for any of her questions, but a familiar masculine voice unexpectedly answered her for them, "That, Kiara, is your older brother, Kopa."

Everyone turned around to see Simba and Nala appearing on the ledge overlooking the den, both of them bearing a look of unease on their muzzles. Kiara was now even more confused than ever; she felt that everything that was currently taking place was all part of a bad dream. She opened her mouth to say something but couldn't think of any words to speak with.

Simba sensed her confusion and spoke softly to her, "Kiara... please, come closer towards your older brother."

Kiara hesitated at first, but finally obliged her father. She slowly walked over towards the Backlanders without uttering a word, all the while Kopa eyed her intently with spite as she made her way towards him. He refused to acknowledge the Lioness as his younger sister; to him, she was nothing more that his 'replacement' after his tragedy at the Devil's Mouth in the Backlands eons ago. Kiara stopped and sat on her haunches behind a Lioness, a couple of feet away from Kopa as she didn't dare to venture any closer to the hostile-looking Lion.

Simba then turned his gaze towards the three animals standing near the near entrance. "Kion... you too. Your family included."

His youngest son nodded and caustiously walked ahead with Fuli following behind him. Mwamba silently followed while cowering next to his adoptive mother's legs. Kopa laid his gaze settle on Mwamba again, causing the young cub to feel uneasy. The way his own son looked at him with such discomfort only served to fuel his hatred for Kion even more, causing him to let out a low growl when Kion stopped next to Kiara, though the younger Lion appeared to unfazed by his threat.

With a huff, Kopa turned and faced towards Simba with a sour look on his muzzle. "Listen here, old Lion. I don't know what you're planning you to do, but I assure you, you won't keep me and my two companions here for long," he seethingly warned, earning disgusted looks from several of the Lionesses.

Simba let out a sigh and tried to remain calm as he softly spoke, "Kopa... is that how you should speak to your own father?"

The brown-maned growled angrily when he said this. "What, you think I'm still a cub or something?!" He angrily blurted out. He then spoke in a dangerously calm tone. "One, you're no longer my father. If you were, you would have done everything in your power to rescue me from that damned sinkhole all those years ago! But instead, you left me to die while Kito and Lema here were the ones who pulled me out from that Hell-hole and even raised me as their own son after that! THEY WERE A BETTER FATHER FIGURE TO ME THAN YOU EVER WERE!"

Simba felt his lips quiver as those hurtful words pierced through his heart. Kopa continued with clenched teeth, "Number two... I will speak to you in any way I wish. I have no respect at all to those who've made themselves my enemies..."

One of the Lionesses couldn't stand any more of Kopa's rudeness towards his own father and she immediately let out a threatening snarl towards him while bracing herself in an offensive stance. Simba instantly saw this and gave her a warning growl, forcing her to reluctantly retreat back to her assigned position. Nala took a step forward and calmly tried to reason with her first-born son,

"Kopa, please... just let us explain first. We're not your enemies, we're still your parents and we still love you with all our hearts. Please believe me that we tried everything to get you out from that sinkhole-"

"If you had truly tried everything, then why is it that Kito and Lema were able to rescue me but you two can't?" He rudely snapped at her, causing his poor mother to be at a loss for words. He then turned to face everyone else who were now looking at him with spite and disgust. "I'm gonna make this clear once more to everyone here... YOU'RE NOT MY FAMILY, NONE OF YOU ARE! Only thing that 'family' has ever done for me was abandoning me and taking everything away from me... including my own SON!"

He paused to set his gaze on Mwamba, who was quivering violently while hiding himself behind Fuli. With a snarl, the brown-maned Lion continued in a rather sinister tone, "And like I said before, you're not gonna hold us hostage for long."

The Lionesses cautiously braced themselves when he said this, just in case he tried to do anything violent, but Kopa simply stood at his place while bearing a subtle smirk on his maw.

"Speak for yourself, O' Cocky One," Vitani quipped as she slowly approached him. "But in case you haven't noticed, we have you surrounded _and_ outnumbered... and there's nothing you can do about it."

To her surprise, Kopa let out a mocking chuckle and flashed an evil smile towards her. "I don't think so, beautiful. The truth is... _we_ have you surrounded and outnumbered... and there's nothing you can do about it," he deadpanned, causing the Lionesses to glance at each other in confusion.

As if on cue, the sound of fluttering of wings could be heard as a silky-black raven flew into the den and hovered above, causing Kion to snarl angrily at seeing the pesky avian once again.

"Everyone, I've found them! They're here!" Rudo shouted, though it was unclear to whom he was exactly shouting to.

Then, it happened. In just a matter of a few seconds, a group of about fifty animals made their way into the den. Leopards, servals, chimpanzees and even klipspringers stormed inside, catching the Pridelanders completely by surprise. Kion realized what was going on and he quickly picked up the panicked-stricken Mwamba by the scruff and instantly brought him and Fuli towards another corner where Kiara and several of the Lionesses and the rest of the Guard were gathered after they were forced to retreat when the intruders started closing in on them. For a brief second, Beshte considered of using his enormous size to try and bulldoze the invaders out of the den, but after seeing the leopards and servals' bared fangs and unsheathed claws, he knew that that plan was nothing short of a suicide mission.

"Surround them and wait for Kopa's orders!" One Klipspringer called out and the others happily obliged.

Kopa smirked triumphantly as he watched his fellow Backlanders corner the Pridelanders, while above them, he saw Simba snarling and putting himself in front of Nala to protect her from a group of three leopards that were slowly approaching them. Once he was certain that he was the one who had the upper hand, Kopa casually sauntered past his comrades and towards the corner where Kion and his family along with the other Lionesses were gathered. The Lioness hunters growled defensively at him but Kopa merely ignored them as he stopped a couple of feet away from Kion.

He looked directly at his frowning younger brother before focusing his attention on the young cub hiding behind his adoptive father's hind legs. "Reth... please, come here," he beckoned, trying to make himself sound as friendly as possible, but Mwamba didn't respond him and remained frozen behind Kion's legs.

Getting impatient, Kopa advanced towards them, but it only caused Mwamba to yelp in fright as he quickly ran towards Fuli instead, and she protectively held the Lion cub in her paws before flashing a warning snarl towards Kopa.

The brown-maned Lion halted in his tracks and stared in disbelief towards his son, who had buried his muzzle in Fuli's chest to muffle his cries. Kopa hesitated and a look of guilt was visibly spread across his face. He momentarily stared at the ground before training his sights on his younger brother and started walking towards him. For once, Kion actually feared for his own life as Kopa got closer and closer towards him, yet, he nonetheless stolidly held his ground and bore a solemn look on his muzzle when his elder brother stopped right in front of him and placed his mouth next to his ear.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Kion," Kopa whispered. "Tell my son the truth of who he really is and persuade him to return back to me. Meet me at the border at noon tomorrow where I'll be waiting for him. If you don't comply, I'm declaring war against you... and your family, and I will take my Reth away from you whether he likes it or not."

Kion said nothing as Kopa gave him a final glare before turning around and walking past the other Backlanders.

"Sir... what do we do now?" A serval asked.

"We go home... and pray that my brother comes to his senses..." Kopa merely replied as he walked towards the den's opening.

The serval solemnly nodded and motioned for his comrades to follow their leader. The Pridelands' Lions were all very much relieved to see the Backlanders exit their home and the brief confrontation ended with not a single animal getting hurt.

Kion let out a sigh as he watched Mwamba huddle closer towards Fuli at the same time his mate looked over towards him with a worried look on her face. He let out a long, exasperated sigh and sunk himself into the ground. His well-crafted plan had unexpectedly backfired, and now he had put himself and the rest of his family in jeopardy. He groaned tiredly as he mopped a paw across his face before returning his gaze on Mwamba... the young Lion cub he and Fuli had adopted and raised, and whom he may not be able to see again after tomorrow.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Sorry if this chapter didn't turn out the way that some of you guys had wanted/expected. But I promise the next chapter will be much longer and will conclude the entire conflict between Kion and Kopa, though it will also be the begining of a new set of problems that arises once the current issue is resolved.**

 **Thanks to everyone who left me some kind reviews from the last chapter, I really appreciate the positive feedback. I hope you guys would be so kind as to leave reviews and comment your thoughts on this chapter as well :) Have a blessed and wonderful day ahead! :D**

 **PS: I recieved some well-wishes and PMs from the last chapter and I would like to assure the senders that I've seen them via email, but didn't have the time to respond to some of them. I'll be sure to reply each and every single review and PMs I received over the weekend when I have some free time. Again, I apologise for not responding early, I've been very busy with my college work. Heck, I've been so busy, I still haven't had the chance to watch The Rise of Scar yet :'( So yeah, I'm hoping to respond to your messages over the weekend, and I'm also hoping to watch the special episode by this Sunday. No spoilers please lol XD**


	11. Dulce Domum (updated)

**Chapter 11: Dulce Domum (updated)**

 **A/n: I've made some changes to this chapter, particularly in the middle part after the scene where Kopa had a fruitless conversation with his Klipspringer friend. This was my original concept and idea for the chapter before I errantly cut it short after being pressured to post the update last week. Please feel free to read the story from the beginning, and also the rest of the Author's Note at the end of the chapter.**

Simba took a deep breath before turning towards Nala. She gave him a single, sad nod and together, they slowly descended from their ledge and headed towards the common area of the den below. It had already been several minutes since Kopa and the rest of the Backlanders left, but the elderly rulers could still feel the tension lurking in the atmosphere all around them.

The Lionesses were all gathered in one corner of the den, all of them remained taciturn and had not spoken a word since the intruders left. Kovu was trying his best to comfort Kiara, who was still shaken and very much appalled by Kopa's actions and choice of words towards Simba, while Vitani sat a few feet away from them and silently observed her brother trying to soothe his mate. And right at the furthest corner was Kion and his family. Simba's heart sank when he saw the sight of his youngest son staring into empty space and looking so helpless and full of despair, and Fuli, who rested her muzzle against his amber-red mane with tears streaming down both her eyes while Mwamba sat right between them, nuzzling sadly against his adoptive mother's legs in an effort to comfort her.

Simba hesitated for a moment, but Nala gave him a brief nudge to reluctantly remind him that he had to do the necessary for the sake of the pride's safety. With a sigh, he slowly approached his son while Nala followed behind. Kion looked up when he noticed his father heading towards him and he quietly excused himself from Fuli and Mwamba with a whisper.

He sat himself right in front of his father, who gazed at him silently before letting out a tired sigh.

"I'm- I'm so sorry all this had to happened, son," Simba whispered in a strangled voice. "All this is my fault. I... I just- I just wished I-"

"No, dad, none of this your fault. You can't blame yourself for everything that's happened today," Kion assured him, not bearing to hear his father putting all the blame onto himself. Simba had silently disagreed with him, but decided to avoid mentioning that.

"Whosever fault it was, it doesn't matter now," Simba continued, staring intently into his son's ivory eyes. "What's most important now... is that we have to do everything we can to avoid a war with the Backlanders, whether we like it or not..."

Kion's heart sank even lower when he knew what his father was trying to say. He looked behind and silently observed little Mwamba, who was still nuzzling against his adoptive mother's maw, just as Fuli decided to flash him a sad smile before licking on the cub's forehead to soothe him.

"I... I just don't know how am I ever going to let Mwamba go..." Kion sighed, still staring towrds his mate and son's direction. "I mean... he's been a part of our family since Fuli took him in... I just- I just don't know how we're gonna carry on with our lives without him..."

Simba swallowed, his heart swollen with guilt. He moved closer towards Kion, "Look... I'll be with you tomorrow at the border when you meet Kopa," he said, trying to give a sense of assurance for his son. "I'll try to negotiate and reason with him so you'll still have custody over Mwamba."

Kion flashed him a sad smile but then shook his head. "Thanks, dad... but I highly doubt that he'll listen to reason, especially if it's from us. I think he already made that clear a few minutes ago."

Simba sighed. He tried to deny it, but even he couldn't help agreeing with him. "I think... for all its worth, I think it's best that we spend whatever precious time we have left with Mwamba and... prepare him for tomorrow."

Kion gave a silent nod and started heading back towards his family. Nala walked up beside Simba as they both watch their youngest son sadly nuzzling with Fuli and Mwamba, trying to spend whatever time they had left together as a family.

"You okay?" Nala inquired with a whisper to her mate.

Simba shook his head. "I... I don't know, Nala. I don't know what to feel right now," he sighed, feeling tired and exhausted from everything that happened that day.

She moved closer towards her mate and gave him a comforting nuzzle. "Simba... no matter how bleak everything looks right now, I have no doubts that the great Kings of the Past will make sure everything eventually turns out alright. They have and always done that no matter how bad the situation looks."

Simba considered what she had just said and couldn't help but agree with her. Eversince he regained his throne from Scar, the Pridelands had encountered several rare calamities and tragedies that took place during his reign, yet he was able to properly manage and mitigate the severity of those situations so that everything would turn out smoothly in the end and animals in his kingdom were able to carry on with their lives as usual. Eventhough it was his own efforts that resolved said situations, he and Nala had always believed that it was the Kings of the Past that had guided and influenced him to make the best decisions in order to preserve the kingdom they once ruled. Simba pondered, if the great Kings had helped him through all those mishaps in the past, surely they'd help him now with his present conflict with Kopa... right?

His spirits immediately lifted with these thoughts going on in his mind. "Nala... I think you may be right," he whispered with a subtle smile as he nuzzled back against her to thank her for giving him a new sense of hope, to which she smiled back and allowed him pamper her with his affection. "I have a feeling everything will turn out alright."

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Time went by and dawn eventually arrived the next day. As the first few streaks of sunlight flooded the African savanna, a spotted Leopard was seen strolling through the thick foliage of the Mukuni Woods over in the Backlands. Lema looked around him as the animals who had invaded Pride Rock's den were all busy preparing themselves for a possible second invasion. None of the Backlanders had any sleep for the rest of the night before as the adrenaline rush from the confrontation kept them up.

As he observed his fellow Backlanders sparring and training with each other, he realised that three key animals were nowhere to be found amongst them. Curious, he approached a particular Serval who was sparring with a much bigger Leopard.

"Mwongo, 'hon! Have you seen Rudo?" Lema asked in his usual effiminate manner.

The Serval paused his sparring session and shrugged. "Nah, 'aven't seen 'im," He responded with a deep and coarse voice. " 'E probably back in 'is nest or sumthin."

The Leopard frowned and decided to go looking for his two comrades himself.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Meanwhile, at the very edge of the Woods, Kito hid himself behind an oak tree and was silently observing a particular brown-maned Lion who was standing in the middle of the empty stretch of land that marked the Pridelands-Backlands border. The Klipspringer had been worried for Kopa, as the latter had remained mostly quiet and avoided the others throughout the entire night after they escaped from Pride Rock. A few minutes ago, Kito had approached him and asked what was it that was bothering him, but the Lion remained reticent and promptly left without uttering a single word.

Dissatisfied with their fruitless encounter, the Klipspringer decided to trail after Kopa, who traversed across the woodlands before making his way to the very centre of the Pridelands-Backlands border, much to Kito's confusion. The sun had barely risen above the horizon and the rendezvous with Kion and his son at the border wasn't until noon. Yet, Kopa stood in the middle of the bare stretch of land and lingered there, sitting on his haunches and remained as still as a statue.

Bewildered by his friend's odd behaviour, Kito decided to hide himself behind a tree and watch over the Lion, fearing that Kopa may be ambushed while sitting out there in the open. Minutes had past and the Klipspringer felt even more worried for his Lion friend, who hadn't moved a muscle since he sat there. After deciding he didn't have the patience to wait any longer, Kito stepped out from his hiding spot and headed towards his companion.

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Kopa's lips curved downwards in a small frown as he stared towards the direction of the Pridelands. Throughout the entire time since he and the Backlanders arrived back at the Mukuni Woods, his mind had been replaying all the events that took place the night before. Truth be told, he was still very much angered about the sting operation that Kion had pulled off back at Scar's former hideout. But what got him really upset was remembering the sight of his own son Reth, trembling with fright when he tried to approach him. Seeing his own cub being petrified by his very presence devastated him, and it continued to eat at him for the rest of the night, making him reclusive and withdrawn from his fellow Backlanders.

"Eh, kid... you alright?"

Kopa flinched mentally when a familiar deep voice interrupted his inner tirade.

"What are you doing here?" The Lion morosely asked, straightening his posture and not bothering to look behind at the owner of the voice.

"I was just about to ask you the same question," Kito calmly said as he walked closer and stood next to the brown-maned Lion.

Kopa didn't really appreciate his friend's presence, but he said nothing and continued staring towards the direction of the Pridelands. Kito sighed and decided to try again, "Come on, kid, you're crazy if you're planning to stay out here in the open all morning, being exposed and all... what's troubling you?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." Kopa replied emotionlessly, trying to hint to him that he wanted to be left alone.

Kito was even more annoyed with the Lion's stubborn behaviour, and decided to take on a more aggresive approach to get a response out of him. "Look, kid... I really gotta ask you... is it really worth going through all this pain just to hurt your family?"

This time, Kopa did turned around and faced him with a raise brow that accomponied his shocked expression, rewarding the Klipspringer with a satisfied sense of achievement.

"What are you talking about, Kito?" He asked, giving his friend a demanding look.

Kito breathed and calmly continued, "Look... I can tell by the way you spoke to your father and the rest of your family that you're just trying to hurt them. And frankly, I don't really like-"

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Kopa snapped while angrily baring his teeth, though the stoic Klipspringer remained unfazed by this.

"I don't like the Pridelanders any more than you do, Kopa. But you can't deny the fact that Simba is still your father and he still loves you, and so does the rest of your family."

His words caused Kopa to gaze straight into Kito's eyes in disdain. "I've said this a million times and I'll say this again, I have no family because my so-called family had abandoned me! What's gotten into you, Kito? You're not sounding like yourself at all!"

The Klipspringer scoffed exasperatedly before narrowing his gaze on the Lion. "I hate to admit this, Kopa, but when your father looked at you in the eyes and told you that he never abandoned you and he still loved you... I believed him. And you know why? Because Lema and I raised and took care of you since you were a cub, so I know what it's like to be a father and when a father is being sincere to his own kid."

The brown-maned Lion was noticably speechless as Kito appended, "And I have to be honest with you, Kopa... I'm still bothered by the way you spoke to your own father last night. It was brash, disrespectful and completely unnecessary. And I think the way your own son, Reth reacted when you tried to approach him after that is a clear sign that karma is making sure that your outburst towards your father isn't going unpunished."

Kopa's face fell at the mention of his own son. He couldn't look at the Klipspringer any more and sulked sourly towards the ground.

"I'm sorry for being harsh on you, kid. But I just wanna make sure you don't do anything that you will regret for the rest of your life," Kito concluded, turning around towards the direction of the Mukuni Woods. "Just think about it, Kopa. Don't let your ego and blind hatred cloud your better judgements."

Kopa looked behind and watched the Klipspringer make his way back to the woodlands before returning his gaze back towards the Pridelands. He scowled at first when the memory of him falling into the Devil's Hole came into his mind, but his expressions immediately fell when he remembered what Kito had said about his son. He shut his eyes and let out a long, resentful sigh before opening them again. A million voices began screaming at him in his mind, each of them telling him different things of what to do next, yet he exasperately shook his head and tried to ignore these voices, resuming his blank stare towards the Pridelands ahead of him.

But after only a few seconds later, his body had finally decided he had been sitting on his haunches for too long and it prompted for him to stand up and start walking about to stretch his legs. He opted to start walking eastwards along the border as the tranquil view of the rising sun inching above the horizon gave him a somewhat sense of calm in the midst of all the chaos that was going on in his mind.

He strided along the dusty ground, ignoring any thoughts that came across his mind. But after only walking silently for a few minutes, his animal instincts blarred unexpectedly, warning him that a certain presence was lurking somewhere near him. He paused in his tracks and turned around, wondering if his Klipspringer friend had followed him. But he could see no soul as he scanned the area behind him, nor anything else for that fact as the natural border was complete barren, save for a few rocks and small boulders that scattered here and there. A particular lump of boulder was planted just a few feet from him and he wondered if Kito was hiding it, though he dismissed that idea as the boulder was too small to conceal the fairly-sized Klipspringer.

Kopa shrugged, thinking his senses had possibly been triggered by a false alarm, and turned around to resume with his walk... only to violently jump backwards in shock when he was immediately greeted with the sight of a particular elderly madrill who sat crossed-legged in a meditating pose with closed eyes while supporting an odd-looking staff, seemingly out of nowhere.

"WHOAH!" Kopa exclaimed, his heart pounding against his chest as his entire body was overriden with shock.

The mandrill momentarily opened an eye to observe the hyperventilating Lion before shutting it again, even smilling subtly in the process. Kopa managed to eventually calm himself down before giving the mandrill a grilling glare. "What are you doing here, Monkey? Explain yourself!" He demanded sharply, though the primate didn't seem to be interested in answering his question.

"De real question is... what are you doing here?" The mandrill calmly asked back to the Lion in a thick African accent while still keeping his eyes shut, which only served to irritate Kopa even more.

"Why do you care, I'm out here just minding my own business," the brown-maned Lion scoffed with spite embedded in his voice.

"Ah... then your business, it is my business too!" The mandrill chuckled mysteriously, this time with both eyes opened, his response leading Kopa to believe that he wasn't right in the head. "You see, Kopa... I'm the Pridelands' royal Mjuzi, and my duty is to faithfully serve and advice my King and 'is children. All 'is children."

This time the Lion was clearly taken aback as he stared deeply at the strange animal in front of him. "Wait... how'd you know my name?" He asked, trying to mask his surprised look by raising a brow.

"Hmmm... maybe this will help you remember!" The Mandrill laughed his response as he put aside his staff before standing up and putting both his hands above his head, as if he was pretending to lift something high into the air.

The moment Kopa saw him in that odd pose, he let out a low groan and shook his head, as a certain memory from his past intantly reminded him of who the primate in front of him was. "You're that same Mandrill who presented me in front of all those animals when I was a cub, right?" He sighed in a half-hearted voice.

"Ha-ha! Yes! So, you haven't completely forgotten who you are!" Rafiki ecstatically cried out as he picked up his staff and casually leaned against it as he continued smiling at the Lion.

"What are you talking about? Of course I know who I a-" He cut short his sentence when a realization suddenly flew into his head. "Hey, wait a minute! Did my father send you to talk me out into letting my own son be with my wretched brother?!" He angrily asked, threateningly baring his teeth at Rafiki.

But his menacing glare was instantly replaced with a confused expression for a second time when the Mandrill suddenly burst into laughter and hysterically screaming out, "Yes! Yes-yes-yes! Hahaha yes!", causing the Lion to wonder if the old animal had gone bonkers.

"Hey! Enough of that!" Kopa angrilly snapped, successfully abstaining the primate from continuing with his antics, though the old Monkey was still grinning ardently at him like there's no tomorrow. "Now answer my question, did my father and brother send you out here to 'negotiate' with me or not ?"

The Mandrill chuckled slightly as he waved a bony finger in front of the Lion's muzzle. "Yes and no." He curtly responded, causing Kopa to let out an annoyed grunt. The Mandrill continued anyways, "No; because I was not sent here by them, I came here myself in my own accord... and yes; because they are indeed your father and brother. And you just acknowledged them as your father and brother."

Kopa instantly frowned, mentally chastising himself for actually branding the two Lions he hated most as his father and brother when he had been denying himself that they were ever his family. He pulled a sharp breath and exhaled it slowly as he finally decided he wasn't going to stand anymore nonsense from this clearly unstable animal. "Look here you old Monkey, I don't know what games you're playing at, but I really need to warn you... my patience is wearing thin. Leave now or I'm having you for my breakfast," He sharply warned, narrowing his gaze on the primate.

Yet, much to his utter annoyance, the elderly animal simply chuckled heartily before casually leaning against his staff and facing the Lion with a condescending smile. "Eh, Kopa. We both know that you've permanently given up eating red meat and making fish your staple diet... isn't that right?"

A horrified look came across Kopa's muzzle as he wondered how the old Mandrill came to know that. It was true, eversince he had been living in the Mukuni Woods, he had to follow the strict rules there that stated all predatory animals were only to consume fish and not the prey inhabitants of the Woods, thus explaining why the Leopards and Servals weren't eating the Klipspringers and other prey animals there. This was, to him, a rather embarrassing secret as Lions were supposed to maintain their reputation as skilled hunters and hunt prey animals for their meals... and certainly not making fish their staple diet.

He let out an annoyed grunt when the elderly Mandrill put an arm around him while bearing a triumphant smirk on his wrinkled lips. "Don't worry, old Rafiki here will make sure your secrets stays between us," he said reassuringly, giving Kopa a sense of relief. "But, however... you must let Rafiki do his duties and listen to the advice he has for you..."

"Um... okay," Kopa responded, slightly surprised however, as he expected the primate to blackmail him into doing something far more taxing than just listening to a piece of advise. "So, shoot away."

"My advice is simple. Just carry on with where you were going... and you shall meet with your destiny," Rafiki said while pointing his staff towards the East.

Kopa raised a suspicious brow at him. "So... I just continue walking?"

"Yes, just keep on walking."

"And I will finally meet with my destiny?"

"Yup!"

The Lion gave a slight chuckle, now more than convinced that the old Mandrill was probably being senile with him, but decided to just play along. "Okay, then. So please, pray tell, what my destiny might be..."

"Ah... that, Rafiki has no power to tell you what it is. He can only tell you where to find it. And to be more specific... you will find your destiny... inside a hole, in de ground."

Kopa stiffled a laugh and gazed mockingly at the Rafiki. "A hole? You're saying I'll find my destiny waiting for me inside a hole?"

"Yes, a hole. A hole that contains hundreds of stars, if you look closely inside it! And there, you'll meet your destiny," The old Mandrill added, waving his arms ardently across the sky at the same time.

"Ah, I see. So now there's a hole in the Earth that has burning balls of gas filled inside it and that is supposed to contain my destiny, right? Pah! Crazy old monkey..." Kopa scoffed with undisguised skepticism and mockery, dismissing everything Rafiki had said as nothing more than mindless drivel as he haughtily barged past him after finally deciding that he had enterained the senile old animal for too long.

Rafiki simply stepped aside and observed with a smile as Kopa continued walking briskly towards the East and slowly becoming nothing but a simple dot in the distance. A gentle breeze weaved itself around the Mandrill and he immediately looked up towards the sky. "Mufasa... you know what you must do," He said with a grin, as if he was talking to the late King himself before turning around and making his way back towards the Pridelands.

Meanwhile, Kopa continued his aimless walk while trying to forget his wasteful encounter with the old Mandrill and silently prayed he would not stumble upon any other animal that will interrupt his quiet time alone. But after walking for less than five minutes later, his sharp eyes caught sight of something in the ground just ahead of him. As he approached closer, he realized it was a recently-dug watering hole right in the middle of the barren, dusty land. He could see the paw marks of the animal that dug it around the edges and the scent from it was fairly strong, telling him that the animal had just left the vicinity some time ago.

He also noticed the same set of pawmarks going away from the watering hole and towards the Pridelands area, giving him the obvious premise that it must have been an animal from the Pridelands who had been here a few minutes ago. Feeling dehydrated, he scanned the area around him first to make sure he was completely alone before bending down to have a drink of some much-needed water. But just before his muzzle touched the water, he noticed something that caused him violently jerk backwards with a gasp. Kopa then slowly peered into the hole again and studied the water inside it with a puzzled look. He could see his slightly distorted reflection in the clear water, but what really caught his attention was that it also reflected the hundreds of stars that still twinkled in the bluish-hued sky that has yet to be obscured by the golden rays of the slowly-rising Sun.

The Lion instantly looked up and immediately saw the same sight that was reflected in the water. He gazed momentarily at the heavens before looking back into the water again.

 _"A hole that contains hundreds of stars, if you look closely inside it! And there, you'll meet your destiny."_

The Mandrill's words began ringing in his ears as he stared into the watering hole. Could this be what he had meant? He didn't want to believe it, but Kopa started to reconsider if the elderly animal wasn't really being crazy as he thought he was. Cogs and wheels began turning over in his mind as he recollected what the old Monkey had said. He said he'll meet his destiny inside the hole...

Kopa cautiously put a paw into the water and felt around, but could only feel the soil of the hole that contained the water. He pulled his paw out and frowned, gazing thoughtfully. He continued fixing his sights on his own reflection, waiting for something to happen. Then, a gentle breeze began blowing about, causing the water's surface to ripple about with the wind. Kopa continued observing the water... and instantly noticed something odd. His reflection had become distorted by the movement of the moving ripples of the water, but as the wind slowly died down and the water's surface became still again, he saw that his reflection had been completely replaced by the eerie figure of another red-maned Lion staring sternly at him, a Lion that was neither his own father or younger brother.

Kopa gasped and jolted backwards, rubbing his eyes with his paws to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and cautiously peered back into the water. He immediately let out a sigh when he saw his own reflection staring back at him. He continued gazing into the water, wondering if his eyes had been playing tricks on him. But as he narrowed his focus on the water, he then noticed something else going on in the reflection. Several clouds directly above him began behaving oddly as they began clumping themselves to form a particular shape in an abnormal pace.

Kopa stared in disbelief towards the water as he watched the reflection of the clouds continuing to clump themselves together until it finally formed a particular figure that he could immediately discern; a Lion, a full-bodied male Lion with a rather thick mane and muscular body. Kopa swallowed and slowly shifted his gaze to the heavens above him, and nearly fainted when he saw the same cloud formation that he saw in the water's reflection. But what really made his jaw drop was the fact that this 'Lion' was that it was the very same one that replaced his own reflection in the water and that stared sternly at him a few seconds ago. He remained plastered to the ground as he watched the other 'Lion' looked down upon him.

"Hello... Kopa," The Lion made of clouds began in a very deep and masculine voice, a hint of authoritative power embeded in his tone.

Kopa's heart began racing a thousand beats per second as he faced this strange anomaly that was somehow speaking to him. "H- How do you know my name?" He asked, trying to put on a brave face to hide the fact that he was secretly frightened.

"I know you, Kopa. I know everything about you... because you, are my grandson."

The brown-maned Lion gaped his maw and his pupils dilated. "You're Mufasa..." He whispered, recollecting the name that was the centre of Simba's night-time stories that he related to him back when he was still a cub. Kopa said nothing as his grandfather's spirit nodded in acknowledgement.

"Wh- why are you here?" He finally asked with a nervous stammer.

"I'm here... to remind you who you really are..." Mufasa continued, calmly as ever. "... because you, have forgotten who you are."

Kopa was instantly provoked by his grandfather's last sentence and his face gradually turned into a frown as he gathered his inner courage to lash back at the spirit before him. "No, grandfather. You don't know me," He said sternly with a tinge of scorn. "I know who I am! I know for a fact that I'm more than happy living my life as a rogue in the Backlands, and having nothing to do with-"

"No, Kopa, you are more than just that." His grandfather stopped him, only with a more reassuring look on his face. "You are a descendant of the Great Kings, you are one of us... and your rightful place is the Kingdom of the Pridelands, with your father, your family... and your son."

The brown-maned Lion's eyes widened at the mention of his son, but even more so when several more clouds began manifesting full-bodied figures of other Lions, the spirits of the past rulers of the Pridelands who stood alongside Mufasa and gazed upon the mortal Lion below, who simply stood in awe at the glorious sight that unfolded right before his very eyes.

"Remember who you are, Kopa..." Mufasa said as the clouds that formed his figure and the other Rulers of the Past began to slowly disintegrate. "Remember who you are..."

Kopa blinked as the clouds had completely vanished from his sight, revealing the stars and clear sky that were obscured by it. He looked around him, dazed and confused by what he had just witnessed. He then looked back at the watering hole and then saw the reflection of himself... but it wasn't him as an adult, but rather, it was a reflection of him as a young, infant cub, smiling innocently back at him. He blinked his eyes in shock, and when he opened them back, he saw his adult self being reflected in the water.

With his mind replaying everything that he had just saw for the last few minutes, he sat on his haunches and drew out a long, tired breath and stared at the space in front of him. His pupils dilated once again as images and memories from the past flashed before his eyes. He saw Simba and Nala, his father and mother, smiling at him as he opened his eyes for the first time after being born and how Nala cried tears of joy when she held for the first time in her paws. He remembered the laughter and the look of pride on his parents' faces when he first learned to walk on his fours. He remembered how Nala would always nuzzle and kissed and soothed him everytime he accidentally injured himself when he played. And then, his father, Simba. He could fondly recall how his father had always brought him at the tip of Pride Rock and they would watch the sunrise together. He recalled how his father would always put him to sleep by telling stories and legends of the Great Kings of the Past before kissing his forehead when he had closed his eyes and half-way falling into his slumber.

Tears streamed down from his eyes as memories of his cubhood came back to him. Remembering all those sweet memories of him with his parents brought a sense of nostalgia... and regret. Thinking back, he reprobated himself for the way he spoke to his own father the night before. He let out a long sigh and turned to his left, towards the direction of the Pridelands. At that moment, he knew exactly what he had to do.

"Grandfather... I remember now," he spoke silently to himself as he walked across the border and into the territories of the Pridelands. "Thank you. Thank you for reminding me."

 **XXXXXXXXX**

Over at Pride Rock, the atmosphere around the Lions' den was still as its inhabitants silently counted the hours till noon. The Lionesses remained quiet as they watched the Royal family gathered together and surrounded themselves around Mwamba. The young Lion cub had just been briefed of the situation, and, not surprisingly, was left very much confused and scared by the fact that he had to leave the family he was raised with, only to be with a strange Lion who claimed to be his biological father.

He remained in the very centre of the group, facing the ground and trying to hold back his tears while Hasina huddled close and nuzzled comfortingly against him. His other family members; Kiara, Kovu and even Vitani looked towards him with pity, all of them silently wishing that they could do something to make sure that the young cub wouldn't have to leave their Pride, but memories from last night's incident reminded them that there was nothing else they could do.

Of course, no other animals were more devastated and heartbroken than Mwamba's adoptive parents. Kion and Fuli sadly embraced each other as they observed their adoptive son being comforted by Hasina. Right next to them were Simba and Nala, both of them were just as somber and dejected as everyone else. No-one had spoken a word for the past half-hour, and the atmosphere around them remained gravely silent.

"I'm gonna miss you," Hasina whispered tearfully into Mwamba's ear as she huddled closer towards him.

The male Lion cub swallowed, not knowing how to reply to her. Instead, he gave her a brief lick on her forehead as a response and tried desperately to hold back his own tears from flooding his eyes.

Then, they heard it; the air was silent enough for everyone to make out the faint sound of footsteps making its way up the stepping stones outside. Everyone immediately shifted their attention towards the den's opening... and were completely shocked to see the animal that had appeared and was now standing right at the entrance.

The Lionesses instantly positioned and posed themselves in offensive stances, baring their teeth and growling fiercely at the brown-maned Lion who stood calmly at the entrance, appearing to be unnerved by their display of hostility. Kopa remained still as he silently observed at the faces around him that were staring towards his direction. He was not surprised to see most of these faces were snarling angrily at him, while a few of them seemed to be confused, and some even appeared to be frightened. Then, his gaze narrowed onto two particular animals whom he immediately singled out from the others amongst the crowd.

Without saying a single word, the brown-maned Lion walked into the threshold and slowly approached his targets. The Lionesses wanted to take action and prevent him from entering any further, but without their King's orders, they could do nothing but to stand their ground and give threatening glares and snarls at the intruder, who simply barged past them and continued advancing towards the Royal Family.

Kion, Fuli, Vitani, Kovu and Kiara immediately stepped aside and stood in front of Mwamba and Hasina to protect them, all of them giving threatening glares and growls as they did so, but Kopa never flinched nor did he seemed to be interested in any of them. Instead, his gaze was solely focused and Simba and Nala, who were still taken by surprise of his sudden appearance, and even more so when he finally stopped in his tracks directly in front of them.

The other Lions held their breaths, all of them preparing to pounce on the unwelcomed visitor should he show any signs of hostility towards the King and Queen. Simba and Nala remained still as their first-born son stared solemnly at both of them for several tensed seconds without uttering a single word.

Then, the unexpected happened. Kopa rushed straight towards Simba and burried his muzzle against his mane, his body trembled as muffled sobs could soon be heard shortly after that. Everyone, especially Simba, were completely taken aback by this sudden turn of events and didn't know how to react to the situation.

"Father... I'm so sorry for everything I did... I'm so sorry..." Kopa's muffled cries could be heard as he continued to embrace his father, who had finally recovered from his shock and managed to rest a paw on his son's shoulder with a subtle smile on his lips.

"There, there, son..." Simba whispered, his heart mellowed at once as he patted his paw on Kopa's shoulder.

The brown-maned Lion pulled away and momentarily stared into his father's eyes before turning towards his mother and giving her a long and teary nuzzle against her side. Nala herself started shedding tears of joy as she embraced him, cherishing that special and intimate moment between herself and her long-lost son.

"Oh, Kopa... I missed you so much..." Nala managed to say as she buried her muzzle against Kopa's brown mane. "Welcome home, Kopa. Welcome home..."

Kopa finally let go of his mother and immediately broke into a wide grin as he stared at both his parents, who were now beaming with joy as they both playfully ruffled his mane as if he were still a young cub. Eventhough he was thoroughly enjoying the wonderful moment he was having with his parents, he knew there was still one more thing that needed to be done. Slowly mustering his courage, he turned around and faced towards the Lionesses and the rest of his family; including Kion, Fuli and Mwamba.

He paused to take a deep breath before finally speaking in a clear and calm voice, "If you could spare me some kindness and a few minutes to talk, I uh... I'd like to explain myself and issue a word of apology to you all..."

 **XXXXXXXXX**

Back at the Backlands, Rudo the Raven had just settled himself in his nest at the furthest end of the Mukuni Woods and prepared himself for some much-needed rest after not being able to get any sleep from the night before. Unlike most birds, Rudo had built his nest on the ground between two oddly-shaped rocks and was obscured by the tall grass that surrounded it. As the nest was built on the ground, insects and grubs would sometimes conveniently crawl into his nest, sparing him the need to hunt for his meals (which was the main reason why he built the nest on the ground in the first place).

As he comfortably settled down and prepared to doze off to sleep, his sharp eye caught sight of a millipede that was crawling about at the very edge of his nest, triggering his early-morning insect cravings. "Heh-heh-heh... come to papa- ACK!"

Before he even had the chance to peck on the millipede, a strong grip of iron suddenly wrapped itself around his throat that slowly choked him, before he soon found himself being lifted and was now dangling in front a snarling, angry Lioness, whose blood-shot eyes penetrated his gaze and whose razor-sharp claws was wrapped around his throat.

"Oh, Akina! Uh... fancy seeing you around here... again..." Rudo managed to wheeze while flashing a nervous smile to his attacker.

"Where is he?" The Lioness asked in a dangerously calm voice while still maintaining a firm grip around his throat.

"Um... depends. Which 'he' are you referring to?" Rudo cautiously asked.

"Well, since you ask... I'd like to know where both of them are," She responded, still maintaining her calm tone to get information from the avian.

Rudo swallowed hard and nervously avoided meeting the Lioness' eyes. He seemed to be reluctant to give her any reliable information, and his next response further reciprocated this, "I'm sorry, Akina... but I'm afraid I can't betray my close friend's trust he that he bestowed upon me by giving any information to you," He firmly said after mustering the courage to stand up to his predatory attacker, though he instantly regretted it as soon as he finished his sentence.

The Lioness let out a sigh and gave Rudo a pitiful look as she shook her head. "Rudo, Rudo, Rudo... I wonder why you're so loyal to that piece of trash Lion who has never done a single thing for you in his entire life before. It's a shame, you could have a brighter future ahead of you if you'd just answer my question... but if that's your response, then I'm afraid you won't have any future at all..."

Without warning, the Lioness violently slammed the Raven straight into ground, knocking the wind out of him. Rudo coughed violently and tried to pick himself up and hopefully fly away to safety, but the shock that came when he slammed into the dirt momentarily immobilized him, rendering him completely helpless as he watched the Lioness lift a paw with claws unsheathed before she struck him and his vision immediately succumbed into complete oblivion.

 **A/n: Okay, just to let everyone know, I'll be able to post one more chapter after my upcoming exams next week, but I'm afraid I'll have to go on several months hiatus after that as my schedule is completely packed with extra tuition hours to prepare myself for my finals in September and December.I apologise for the drop in quality in last week's update and I hope that it has not deterred my readers from keeping up with my story. Thank you all for your kind support and have a wonderful day ahead :)**


	12. Fitting In

**Chapter 12: Fitting In**

 **PS: This chapter is still going through beta, so I hope you're kind enough to pardon any visible spelling or grammar mistakes. Apologies in advance and I hope you're still able to enjoy the story.**

The silentness of the still air slowly shifted as a particular Raven began wrinkling his face into a pained frown, letting out a low groan as he slowly opened his eyes after finally regaining consciousness. His head felt heavy and he felt like he had just woken up from a deep sleep that lasted for years. Through the slit of his blurred vision, he could just about make out the sight of several streaks of sunlight penetrating through the thick foliage of some overhead trees.

"Oh... where am I..." Rudo groaned weakly as he began rapidly blinking his eyes in an effort to rid the blurr that obscured his vision. The moment his sights were clear, he instantly realized he had been laying flat on his back on a patch of grass all this while. Not only that, his limited hearing senses soon picked up the sound of thundering, rapid-moving water somewhere nearby.

Not wanting to be on the ground for too long, he began shifting his weight onto his right wing for support in order to get up on his feet, but a sharp, stinging pain suddenly errupted within the same pinion he was using for support, causing the wing to become slack and sending him flat on his back once again.

"ARGH! My wing! Oh, Cripes... what happened..." The helpless Raven groaned in pain as he clutched onto his crippled wing with his good one, giving up all hopes of being able to fly away from wherever he was right now and back to his warm, comfortable nest in the Mukuni Woods.

His eyes suddenly widened with fear when a menacing-looking figure suddenly loomed above him. "Ah... finally, you're awake," The figure spoke in a familiar feminine voice.

Rudo's heart began pounding heavily against his chest when he realized the figure was that of a Lioness, the same one that attacked him and rendered him unconscious earlier. He gulped the lump in his throat as the Lioness narrowed her gaze onto him.

"A-Akina... please, why... how... why are you doing this?" The Raven stammered incoherently out of pure dread, his quivering with fear gave the smirking Lioness a sense of power and satisfaction as she stolidly stood over the cripled avian with bared teeth.

"You gave me no choice, Rudo. I asked you a simple question earlier... yet you refused to answer me," Akina softly spoke while maintaining a calm expression that was anything but genuine. "So now that you know what I'm capable of... I'm giving you another chance. Tell me where I can find _them_ , and I won't rip you into pieces and make you my lunch!" She yelled out her threat before hovering her bared fangs just inches away from the Raven's beak to show that she meant business.

Rudo's eyes began wandering about in desperation as he debated with himself on what he was supposed to say next. The glowering Lioness watched him intently as she waited for his response, but after a few seconds, she saw the avian's expressions suddenly toughened, giving her a telltale sign that whatever he was about to say next was more than likely to inflame her even further instead.

"So... tell me, Rudo. Where are they?" She asked nonetheless, holding back her boiling rage to hear what he had to say.

As she expected, the Raven took a breath and tried to put on a stoic expression despite the nervousness that prevailed in his eyes. "Akina... all I can say is this; _Wewe ni mbwajike na punda_!"

The Lioness immediately let out an enraged growl when the avian spat the vile oath in Swahili right into her face, and it took every fibre of her being to hold back the urge of tearing the bird into pieces with her jaws right then and there, not yet anyways as she still needed to extract the important piece of information from him.

"I'm not telling you where they are, Akina! I never betray a friend, so you can forget about ever finding them!" Rudo continued, her incensed growl gave him a sudden boost of courage. Now, he never felt even more prepared to face his imminent end that was more likely to take place in just a matter of a few more seconds.

As he expected, Akina scowled threateningly at him before violently biting on his tail feathers and dangling him in the air between her jaws, causing the Raven to let out a howl of agony in the process. Rudo closed his eyes and braced himself for the moment when he would be consumed alive, yet to his surprise, the Lioness started walking off while clenching onto him between her jaws instead. He couldn't actually tell where she was heading as he dangled upside-down from her mouth, but one thing he could make out was that the sound of rapid-moving water got louder and louder with every step she took, and that was all that was needed for the Raven to figure out where she was taking him.

Minutes later, the Lioness stopped walking and the Raven soon found himself dangling above the very top of a steep waterfall. Rudo let out a panicked shriek when he saw the thundering waters plunging down before crashing and foaming into lather at the base, hundreds of feet below from the ledge that the Lioness was currently standing on. The avian immediately recognized the falls as the Maporomoko Waterfalls at the very edge of the Backlands, and it held the impeccable reputation of being the tallest waterfalls in the whole Savanna.

Rudo began hyperventilating as he dangled, losing whatever ounce of bravery he had a few minutes ago. He knew that once she let go of him, he would immediately be consumed by the thundering rapids of the waterfall and there was no chance of escaping death, as his crippled wing would prevent him from being able to fly to safety. Come to think of it, he actually preferred being consumed by a menacing Lioness rather than being consumed by this monster of a waterfall. As if reading his mind, what she said next perfectly explained why.

"Sorry for the change of mind, but I think a quick and instantaneous death from a single bite of my jaws is a little too compasionate... and I really don't think you deserve such mercy, Rudo," Akina taunted with a slightly muffled voice as she dangled the Raven over the ledge. "Well... it was nice knowing you..."

"WAIT! WAIT! WAIT!" Rudo screamed out at the last second as Akina had began swinging him back and forth, with the intention of sending him as far into the falls as possible. She paused as a subtle smirk formed on the corners of her lips, but she still latched onto the bird's tail feathers between her fangs. The avian let out a defeated sigh that as accompanied with a look of guilt on his face.

"Alright, I give up! They're all at the Pridelands, okay, both of them! That's all I know, I swear!" Rudo finally blurted out in a last-ditched effort to save his own life. Truth be told, he had never felt so much regret in his life after he spoke those words. "Now please... just... just let me go..."

Akina's expressions immediately softened as she took a deep breath through her nose before exhaling it again. "Thank you, Rudo. I really appreciate your honesty," she said in a dangerously calm tone, though the Raven didn't realize the lethalness behind her voice as he let out a huge sigh of relief, naively thinking that his life had been spared. Then, with one swing of her head, the Lioness threw the avian straight into the plunging rapids of the waterfall.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHH..."

The Raven's screams was soon drowned in the midst of the thundering crashes of the plummeting waters, giving the Lioness a sense of assurance that she won't be seeing him again. She lingered around the ledge for a few more minutes, just to enjoy the view and scenery that surrounded the Falls... a view that was simply to die for. Bearing a smirk at that thought, Akina turned and began walking away from the ledge.

 _The Pridelands, hmmm_? She thought to herself as she trudged along the muddy ground of the surrounding woodlands. _Now this will be_ _interesting_...

 **XXXXXXXXX**

As the bright orange Sun slowly made its way above the horizon and marking the begining of another day, the animals of the Pridelands awoken and soon began about with their daily routines. Over at Pride Rock, Mwamba and Hasina were seen cheerfully playing with a Baobab fruit while Fuli and Kopa observed the cubs on the sidelands with contented expressions on their faces. Earlier just before dawn, Kion had left to join the rest of the Guard in responding to an emergency near the Zebra grazing grounds while Simba and Nala had to attend a rather important meeting with the Elephants at their territory.

That left Kopa and Fuli to attend to the kids, with the help of Kiara and Kovu who were both sitting quitely a few feet away from the cubs, while the other Lionesses watched from their usual corner at the other end of the den. Needless to say, it was a rather slow start of the day for the adults in the den, and the only ones who weren't laying on their sides or sitting on their haunches were the two cubs playing right in the middle of the lair.

"Hah! You can't get the Baobab ball from me!" Hasina taunted with a playful smirk as she dodged all of Mwamba's attempts to pounce on the fruit from her.

"Oh yeah? Just watch me!" Mwamba called out with an equally mischievous grin as he began chasing after her.

Kopa couldn't help but smile as he observed his only son play with the young Lioness, whom he just learnt was actually his niece. Kopa had never felt happier before in his life since he amended things with his family and Pride the day before. Of course, Simba and Nala were more than happy to welcome him back into the family, and so was Kion. It took a while for his brother to convince his mate that he was a changed Lion and was no longer hostile to any of them, but eventually, Fuli managed to put her grudges behind her and accepted him as her brother-in-law.

But for Kopa, the real icing on the cake was when they all managed to discuss and arrive at an accord over the shared custody of Mwamba. Kion and Fuli agreed to regularly come over to Pride Rock and let him spend several hours during the day with his son. Mwamba however, still hasn't seem to accept the fact that he was actually his biological father, though he no longer feared or felt intimidated by his presence and instead, branded him as his 'uncle'. Kopa didn't mind this, however. He understood that the cub was still too young to comprehend of what was going on and he kept it in his prayers that his son will one day start calling him 'Dad' instead of 'Uncle'.

Despite being welcomed and accepted back into the family by his Simba and Nala and his younger brother, Kopa sensed that the other inhabitants of Pride Rock weren't about to accept him as one of them. His first night at his own home (which was, in fact, last night) turned out to be quite lonesome and somewhat depressing to say the least as the other Lions, including Kiara and her family, all avoided him during dinner and the hours after that. None of them spoke to him nor made eye contact, and there were even instances where he caught some of them throwing spiteful looks at him when he had his back towards them. Yet, he managed to maintain his composure throughout the night and ignored their psychological harassments, and it eventually caused him to end up sleeping all alone at the furthest corner of the den.

Simba and Nala have yet to realize this problem and Kovu was actually quite open and even willing to make an effort of making him feel welcomed, considering the fact that he had been through a similar situation a few years back, but he didn't had the chance to do so as Kiara would reprimand and even glared at him everytime he tried to approach the brown-maned Lion for a casual Lion-to-Lion conversation. And that was the one thing that really hurt Kopa. He couldn't care less if the other Lioness hunters treated him like an outcast, but to have his younger sister ignore and isolating him and earning her distrust was simply a pain he just couldn't bear. Then again, he can't really blame her for being that way since the ruckus he had caused two nights ago. As much as he's happy now to be closer with his little Reth, he prayed that Kiara would eventually warm up to him and accept him as her brother.

"Hey, Uncle Kopa! Did you see how I managed to take the Baobab from Hasina?"

Kopa jolted slightly when his son's voice interrupted his thoughts, though he was able to immediately put on a surprised look when he saw the young Lion pinning a frowning Hasina to the ground with one paw while holding the fruit in the other.

"Wow, you did great, kiddo! You really got her this time!" Kopa enthusiastically cheered him on with a grin, earning a contented smile from the young cub... though it didn't last long.

"Actually, I got him!" Hasina taunted before quickly springing herself up and catching the cub above her by surprise as she stole the fruit from his paw. They soon burst into shrieks of giggles and laughter as they continued chasing and pouncing on one another.

The two adults smiled as they watched the kids play their innocent game and thoroughly enjoying themselves. As she stood next to her brother-in-law, Fuli stole a glance towards him and noticed the vacant expression in Kopa's eyes as he observed his son Reth frolic about with his cousin. It didn't really take long for her to figure out that he was somewhat hurt by how his son had addressed him.

"Hey..." She softly called out to him, catching his attention as he faced her with a rather startled look on his face. "He's only known you for less than twenty-four hours. Give him some time, I'm sure he'll soon be ready to accept you as his father too."

Kopa let out a sigh before he spoke, "Thanks, Fuli. That's um... that's the exact same thing I've been telling myself the past few hours and I really we're both right," He said, finishing his sentence by flashing her an appreciative smile. They returned their gazes back onto the cubs, but there was still one more thing that Kopa wanted to say to the Cheetah since the morning before, something that he had been holding back for a while now and he felt that he had better say it to her soon while there's some degree of privacy between them.

"Hey, Fuli... can I tell you something?" he finally spoke, as the Cheetah turned to face him with a rosy smile on her lips.

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

The Lion pulled a sharp breath before exhalling it again just before he spoke, "I uh... I really want to thank you for finding and taking care of my Reth. I... I just can't imagine what would happen to him if some other animal had found him instead."

Fuli grinned before giving him a humble nod. "Sure. I did what any other animal with compassion would have done when stumbling upon a helpless infant all alone by himself, although I wasn't exactly expecting of adopting him when I found him."

The two exchanged a brief, friendly chuckle before Kopa returned his gaze towards his son, feeling much better now that he had finally said what he had to say to the animal who took care of his Reth when he was separated from him. Eventhough she succeeded in making him feel better, Fuli was now the one who had a burning question she wanted to ask him, though she was slightly afraid that it would be too sensitive of a question that might end up hurting him instead.

"Kopa... if it's not too personal for you, may I ask... what happened to your mate? Why did she leave you?" Fuli finally inquired, after not being able to hold back her curiousity for another minute.

The brown-maned Lion sighed heavily before he faced her, and she could immediately discern the look of guilt that was noticible in his eyes. "Well... let's just say I made a huge mistake in the past sometime before got married... a mistake that I wasn't really proud of. And that same mistake came back to haunt me a few days after she gave birth to Reth. After that... well, she was so angry and disappointed with me... she actually clawed me near my jugular before taking off with our son. Of course, naturally I would have gone after her to at least get my son back... but I was too injured to even move at that point," He finished relating his past by rubbing a paw across his throat as if he could still feel the stinging burn of the scar that was obscured by his mane.

Hearing this, Fuli immediately regretted for asking such a question as she watched him stare morosely towards the ground while still running his paw across his throat. "I- I'm so sorry, I... I shouldn't have asked," She softly whispered with guilt, though he didn't seem to be too affected by her earlier question as he let out a forced laugh before trying to flash an assuring smile at her.

"Nah, it's okay, I didn't mind," He said, giving her a friendly pat on her shoulder before turning his focus back onto the two squealing cubs.

Fuli actually had even more questions she wanted to ask him after he related his past to her, but decided against it as she didn't want him to brand her as being obnoxious. As she returned her gaze back to her adoptive son, she couldn't help but wonder what exactly was the mistake Kopa made that caused his mate to leave him.

Meanwhile, just a few feet across from them, Kiara had been silently observing the brown-maned Lion since he began talking to Fuli, She still held so much hate and grudge against him to even consider him as her elder brother and so refused to speak with him since he arrived, and she made it clear to him when she walked away from the den last night just as he was about to approach her and have a heart-to-heart talk and get to know her better. She still hadn't forgiven him for the way he had talked and threatened the Pride two nights ago, and quite honestly, she didn't know if she could ever forgive him for that.

Kiara wasn't really the type to hold grudges against other animals due to her compassionate and kind nature, but with Kopa... she held this unusual level of hate for him that caused her to detest every single thing that he did; the way he talked, the way he ate, the way he interacted with their parents... especially the last part. She wondered how could her father and mother could forgive him so easily after all those vile and disrepectful words he spat at their faces that night. Was it the fact that he was the eldest of their children and so deserved such special treatment? That thought alone was more than enough to further enrage her as she intently observed that dratted brown-maned Lion across from her.

The only satisfaction she got out of all this was the fact that the other Lioness hunters seemed to share her same sentiments when she noticed that they've been avoiding him and even throwing spiteful looks and bad-mouthing him behind his back. Yet, somehow, for some reason... she held this strong urge deep inside her chest to tick off her subordinates whenever she caught them throwing those glares and murmured insults at him, though she never really had the courage to act upon the urge. Yet, the fact remains that she had actually thought of defending the Lion that she hated the most... and it really confused her as to why she had such an urge in the first place.

"How long are you gonna stay mad at him?"

Kiara's hazel eyes widened when the deep voice of her mate interrupted her train of thoughts. She looked to her left and saw Kovu looking at her with a raised brow. "You've been staring at him for the last ten minutes," He continued, his voice remained calm, though it was clear he was concerned for her.

Kiara sighed and looked away from him. "I don't know, Kovu..." She finally spoke. "I just... don't want to have anything to do with him."

Kovu breathed and slowly began nuzzling against her muzzle. "Kiara... he's still your older brother. You have to forgive him at some point."

The peach-coloured Lioness let out an annoyed grunt before turning to directly face her mate. "I don't understand you, Kovu. Why are you defending him? What's he done for you to earn your pity?"

"I pity him because I have been in his position before, honey. I know what it's like to be treated like an outcast, just because of some- "

"That was different. You never actually intended to hurt my father or my family, whereas he openly threatened to declare war against us two nights ago!"

"And because of that one mistake, he's supposed to be treated like a pariah and an outcast by his own family for the rest of his life?"

For once, Kiara didn't know how to answer him. Defeated, she gave him an exasperated snort before stubbornly facing the other way and turning her back on him. Kovu sighed, he didn't really mean to have such a heated argument with his mate... he was just trying to convince her to do the right thing. He scooted closer to her and rested his head against hers.

"I'm sorry, Kiara. I just... want to help you out. I don't want you to do something you'll regret later on," He whispered softly into her left ear, and that seemed to do the trick. Kiara gave a slight chuckle before adjusting herself so that head was now comfortably nested against his mane; she never could stay mad at him for more than a few minutes, and it was the reason why she loved him even more.

"It's okay, Kovu. I know you didn't mean anything," She said with a smile, and earning her a few affectionate licks to her muzzle from Kovu.

"Glad to hear it," He replied, grinning widely as he stared into her beautiful eyes. "So... you are gonna start talking to Kopa soon and make him feel welcomed... right?"

Kiara's ears almost instantly flattened when he asked the last question. She knew for a fact she wasn't at all ready to even stand anywhere near her elder brother, let alone having to engage with in a conversation with him, yet she didn't want to do anything that will undermine Kovu's efforts in trying to forge a healthy sibling relationship between herself and her long-lost elder brother. Then, her breath stiffened when she heard it; the sound of pawsteps heading towards them. She slowly peeked over without turning her head and saw that Kopa had excused himself from Fuli and started heading towards their direction, the determined look on his face was all she needed to come up with the premise that he had been mustering the courage to have a conversation with her.

Seeing this, two small voices began screaming at her in her mind, each telling her two different things of what to do next. One was ordering her to stand her ground and allow the brown-maned Lion to approach her and listen to what he had to say; the other one was shouting for her to do anything to avoid having to engage in a conversation with him at all costs.

Kopa was only a few feet away from his younger sister and her mate when she abruptly rose onto her fours, causing him to stop halfway in his tracks with surprise as he didn't expect her to do that.

"Hasina! Come on, sweetie, we have to go now! We have to start training you for your first hunt!" Kiara called out, purposely looking past the brown-maned Lion to set her gaze on her daughter. It was quite apparent that the second voice in her head had succeeded in wooing her to obey its command.

Kovu shut his eyes and lowered his head to hide his disappointment as he heard daughter respond back in a noticably confused voice, "What, really? But I thought you said we're going in the afternoon, Mum? Now is still early in the morning!"

"Hasina! Don't ask questions, just come!" Kiara repeated in such a stern manner that it confused both her daughter and Mwamba, as they both had never seen her act so strict before. Not wanting to incur her mother's wrath, she sadly bid a silent good-bye to the other cub before scampering past Kopa and straight towards Kiara.

"Come on, Kovu, let's go..." She said in a hurried manner and quickly led her daughter towards the den without waiting for her mate. Kovu sighed and reluctantly got up and followed after Kiara and their daughter, though he managed to flash a polite yet pitiful smile at Kopa before leaving the den.

Kopa nodded and returned the other Lion's smile, but his face immediately fell after they left. That's the second time his sister had walked out on him just as he wanted to have a friendly talk and clear the air between them. Behind him, he could hear his son pleading with Fuli.

"Mum! Mum! Can I follow and watch Hasina train?" He begged, still wanting to spend more time with his playmate.

"I'm sorry Mwamba, but I'm afraid we have to go back home now. Your father is waiting for us there," She responded with a gentle smile while ruffling the cub's head, though Mwamba was obviously not at all happy about it.

"Okay, fine..." He groaned and followed his adoptive mother as she led the way to the exit.

"Take care, Kopa. We'll see you tomorrow," She softly said with a grin when she passed him.

"Thank you, Fuli," He responded back and returned her smile. He actually wanted to have another word with his son, but the young cub was too sulky to even say good-bye him.

He chuckled to himself as he watched them disappear through the den's opening before he was hit by the realization that he was alone in the entire Lair. Well, he wasn't exactly alone as the Lionesses were still at their usual corner of the den, but given how they weren't on speaking terms with him, he was good as being alone. Well... maybe he could try to at least talk to one of them. It wouldn't hurt to at least try. With that, he took a deep breath, and started heading towards their direction.

One of the Lioness hunters happened to look towards his direction and scowled when she saw him approaching. "Hey, Bahati... Isn't it about time for all of us to hunt for lunch already?" She called out to a much older Lioness who was sleeping in front of her.

Bahati woke up feeling quite confused as they usually went hunting nearing the afternoon, but she immediately understood what her subordinate meant when the younger Lioness nudged her head towards Kopa's direction.

"You know what, Asha, you're right," She calmly responded as she got up on her fours. "Come on, ladies. Let's go."

Kopa halted in his tracks as he watched the other Lionesses pick themselves up from the floor before heading for the exit. He didn't say anything when some of them purposely looked at his direction to throw a disgusted glare at him before they left. Eventhough he was hurt and disappointed, he convinced himself to remain calm, though he was now even more desperate to talk to at least one of them and try to clear the bad blood between them. The other Lionesses have already left the den, though only one still remained, as it was her routine to make sure all her Pridesisters went first before she herself left the den.

As she started walking for the den's opening, Kopa realized it was actually Bahati, the eldest of the Lionesses. He gathered his courage and kept his hopes up as he called out to her. "Um... excuse me, err... Bahati?"

The old Lioness froze in her tracks, and he could tell by the way she flinched that she wasn't at all pleased of being called out by him. Yet, much to his relief, she turned and slowly faced him, bearing a small, polite smile that Kopa sensed was anything but sincere.

"Yes, Kopa?" She asked, trying her best to sound polite.

The brown-maned Lion hesitated at first but managed to continue, "Is it alright if I borrow just a few minutes of your time? There's something important that I really want to settle with you."

"I'm sorry, Kopa, but I really have to go and join my sisters with their hunt," She replied, only with a twinge of firmness in her voice this time.

"Yes, I know, but... it'll only take a few minutes, I promise. Please... it's really important to me."

The Lioness let out a sigh and momentarily gazed at the ground before reluctantly looking back at him. "Fine. How can I help you?"

"Thank you," Kopa released a grateful breath before moving closer towards her and set his gaze onto her eyes. "Bahati... I just wanna say that... that I really want to apologize for what I did two nights ago. I know I have been a real jerk towards you guys that night and I probably deserve all the heckling and silent treatments you're giving me... but please, I promise you, I'm truly sorry for what I did. I just want to know if you guys could ever, ever forgive me?"

For a while, Bahati didn't say anything as she studied the Lion in front of her, as if she was judging him to determine if he was redeemable or not. Then, after letting out a heavy spoke, she spoke, "Kopa... I think the best way to answer your question, is by letting you in on a secret... a secret that no-one knows about besides myself... and your parents."

Kopa was honestly taken aback, he didn't expect the old Lioness to be as open as to share a secret with him that only three animals knew about, though quite naturally he was curious to find out what it was. "Um... okay. What's the secret then?"

Bahati looked around, as if to make sure they were truly alone before returning her gaze back onto him. "Kopa, a few years ago while you were still just an infant, there was only one other Lioness who had the privilage of taking care of you besides your mother... and that Lioness was me."

Kopa's eyes widened when she reveal that piece of information to him. "Wait... you... you actually took care of me?"

Bahati smiled and gave a nod. "Yes, I did. Whenever your mother had to be somewhere else with the King, I was placed in charge of looking after you, Kopa. I took care of you... as if you were my own son."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she pictured the adult Lion standing in front of her as the frail, skinny cub she once took care of many moons ago. "Oh, Kopa. You were so small and so helpless back then that I made a vow to you that I will always protect you with my life whenever I held you in my paws..."

Kopa stiffled a breath, not knowing what to say. Bahati sniffled slightly before she continued,

"I was just as devastated as your parents that day when you went missing in the Backlands. Every night after that, I kept praying to the Great Kings of the Past that you were still alive and had someone to look after you. Then... five days ago, that's when the first news came about that you were spotted in the Pridelands. At first I thought, the Great Kings have finally answered our prayers and that you've come back to us! But... instead, I found out that you were actually in the Pridelands to attack your own brother, Kion. I didn't want to believe it at first... but then, I finally saw myself your true colours when we brought you back here to the den. The way you spoke and threatened us and how you openly insulted your own mother and father... that was just too much for me..."

She paused to wipe away her tears while Kopa started gazing towards the ground, too ashamed and embarassed to look at her in the eyes.

"So... back to your question," Bahati continued, looking sternly at the Lion. "If you want my honest opinion, Kopa... I don't think it'll be anytime soon that I or my fellow sisters will be able to forgive you. Your parents may have forgiven you... but not us. You lost whatever respect we could have had for you when you threatened and talked back against our King, who just so happens to be your own father."

Kopa's eyes began to fill with unshed tears as Bahati finally let out the painful truth. "Bahati, please... what you said is absolutely correct and I can't blame you or the other Lionesses for treating me like an outcast. But... I just want you guys to give me a second chance to redeem myself so I can earn your forgiveness. Please... I'm begging you, can you... give me another chance?" He pleaded, painfully looking into her eyes as he anxiously waited for her reply.

Bahati took a deep breath and, to his dismay, gave him a pitiful look before shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, Kopa."

Those were the only words she could respond before she could no longer withstand the emotional pain that scarred her heavy heart. Without saying another word, she turned around and headed for the den's opening, tears streaming down from her eyes as she hurriedly made her exit.

Kopa could only sit with a pained look on his face and stare at the opening where he last saw her. He shut his eyes and let out a low groan before finally allowing the tears to fall freely from his eyes, the heavy feeling of being rejected and left alone was just too overwhelming for him to handle. He didn't care how ridiculous he looked, there was no-one else in the den to judge him as he cried his heart out. He looked up towards the ceiling of the den, visualizing as if he were staring at the heavens above.

 _You said my destiny was to come home and be with my family. How can I even call this my home when most of my family have rejected me_?

He let out a heavy sigh when he could no longer shed anymore tears from his eyes before turning his gaze towards the den's opening. He started debating with himself if he should just leave the place and go back to the much happier life he had back in the Backlands. But no, he decided he better not as he didn't want to hurt Simba and Nala any further.

"Hey, you okay?"

The brown-maned Lion nearly jumped from his skin when he heard a feminine voice behind his back. He quickly turned around, and was instantly greeted by the sight of a blue-eyed Lioness with a unique tuft on her head staring solemnly at him.

"OH! Oh... man, you scared me!" Kopa exclaimed while breathing heavily as the Lioness continued eyeing him with a bemused look on her face. He was finally able to calm himself down before recognized the Lioness standing in front of him. "Hey, wait a minute. You're Vitani right?"

"One and only." She curtly replied, though this time she said it with a small grin that graced the corners of her lips.

"Ah, okay..." Kopa continued, though he couldn't help but feel awkward for some reason. "Hey err... how long exactly were you there... and how much did you hear?"

"I heard more than enough."

"Oh." The Lion stared blankly at the Lioness, suddenly losing the capability to ask or speak anything else to her, eventhough there were several questions going on in his mind that he wanted to ask her. Vitani sensed that her bluntness was a little too overwhelming for him to handle and decided it would be easier to just go ahead with her main agenda.

"Listen... I'm about to head off to the Zuberi River, but... I thought I could use some company. I'll try to answer your questions along the way," She explained, though she hoped for Kings' sake that he got the hint she was dropping to him and say 'yes'.

Kopa was quite honestly baffled by her invitation and apparent kindness towards him, though he was able to snap from his confusion and give her his reply, "Sure, I uh... I'd love to join you!" He said with an appreciative and relieved smile.

Vitani gave him a slight grin before turning and walking ahead, to which Kopa quickly raced ahead to catch up with her. Together, they headed side-by-side past the den's entrance and enjoyed the comfortable silence between them as they headed for their destination.

Back inside the Lair, a particular Mandrill who supported a staff sat himself on the ledge where Simba and Nala slept as he watched the two Lions exit the den. He chuckled to himself once they were gone before picking himself up and heading towards a hidden passage deep inside the kopje, one that connected the Lions' den with the Lair of the Lion Guard.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Apologies if my writing was out of touch. Been spending the whole of last week preparing balance sheets and financial statements that I think my story-telling skills have gone down the toilet. Nonetheless, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and hope to see you in the next one. Speaking of which, I just want you guys to know that I'll be trying my best to update the next chapter in two or three weeks time, though quite honestly I don't really know if that's even possible just looking at my hectic schedule. If I'm unable to do so, then I'm afraid today will mark the begining of my four-month hiatus and I most likely to update anything until December. Please do leave your reviews on your honest thoughts of this chapter, I would really appreciate your feedbacks. Thanks to everyone for your kind words and positive messages in the last review, particularly from 'Guest' [you know who you are :) ] and 'Gage', I really appreciate your advice and words of encouragement! Hope to see you guys soon :)**


	13. Time Together

**Chapter 13: Time Together**

 **A/n: Since this question was brought up to me via PM, please note that this story is NOT in any way cannon to the TLK comics, of which Kopa's character is based on. Also, please do take the time to read the important message I've left at the end of this chapter.**

Vitani crept stealthily along the narrow passageway, making sure she didn't trip on any of the countless of loose cobbles that littered the ground and give herself away. Her breathing quickened the moment she could feel the passageway started going on an incline, and it wasn't long before she saw a few streaks of sunlight stealing through the narrow slit between two large rocks that blocked the very end of the pathway.

The Lioness peeked an eye through the narrow slit and smiled when she saw the destination ahead of her was completely clear of any interfering souls. Using her muzzle and brute strength, Vitani steadily, and quite easily, inched one of the rocks apart to form an opening just big enough for her to squeeze through while making sure to make as minimal noise as she could in the process. Once that was done, she casually slipped through the small opening and onto the other side. She smirked to herself as she stood before her destination; Simba and Nala's personal ledge, the ledge that overlooked the entire den of Pride Rock and where the King and Queen of the Pridelands slept.

Of course it was a clear, unspoken rule that no-one but the Royal family were allowed to be there, but Vitani wasn't one to follow such rules and had many a time crept her way up there whenever she felt the need to escape the company of the other inhabitants of Pride Rock, and of course, she would only dare to do so when she's certain that Simba and Nala were away for a long period time, such as that current morning when the King ad Queen had to attend a meeting with the Elephants that was expected to last till dusk.

Vitani quietly proceeded over to the ledge and nimbly laid herself there close to the edge, looking over the other inhabitants that were scattered around the den's common area beneath her. The other Lionesses were at one end of the den, minding their own businesses, the two cubs Mwamba and Hasina were squeling and wrestling each other over a Baobab fruit right at the centre, and...

Vitani raised a brow when she noticed her brother and Kiara were eyeing the two animals just a few feet away from them intenly. Kopa and Fuli were busy conversing with each other about Mwamba, but Vitani knew that Kiara and Kovu's attention were set on the brown-maned Lion. She trained her gaze back on the newest inhabitant of Pride Rock and silently began observing him. He had only been part of the pride for not more than forty-eight hours, and suffice to say, she could already tell he was suffering. It wasn't hard for her to notice the brief glares her pridesisters shot at him whenever he had his back towards them and how they would purposely ignore and pretend they didn't hear him when he shyly tried to speak with them. But even worse were the damning insults they'd use whenever they were gossiping about him during his absence that would have definitely destroyed his dignity and his will to stay there any longer should he ever hear them.

Of course, eventhough she didn't stoop so low as to join her pridesisters with their harassment towards Kopa, she herself had personally avoided being anywhere near the brown-maned Lion, but it was for a different reason. She already felt Pride Rock getting too cramped since the birth of Hasina and the addition of Mwamba later on, and with Kopa now more or less part of the pride, she felt there was hardly any space for her to be in the confinements of her privacy within the den.

But in all honesty though, Vitani did hold some degree of respect for the newest addition of the pride, stemming from two nights ago during the first confrontation where he and his two Backlander companions managed to escape from Pride Rock despite being surrounded by a dozen hostile Lionesses. She hate to admit it, but eventhough she herself was threatened by some of Kopa's goons whom aided his escape, she actually was quite impressed by how he managed to catch the entire pride off-guard and used it to his advantage.

A dark smirk shadowed the far corners of her lips. Even after months being a part of a pride that was often regarded as protectors of the Circle of Life, her appreciation for ruthlessness had never left her, and what Kopa displayed that night was just that; pure ruthlessness. In a way, she saw him as a reflection of herself during the days she and her family were exiled in the forsaken Outlands.

She paused her train of thoughts and returned her gaze back onto him, and was mildly intrigued by what she saw next. Kopa had excused himself from Fuli and began walking towards where Kovu and Kiara were sitting. Vitani had noticed her brother and Kiara talking quietly to each other while stealing glances towards the brown-maned Lion earlier, and she could already what was about to happen next. Just as she expected, Kiara had already gotten on her fours and hurriedly forced her mate and daughter to follow her out of the den before Kopa could get anywhere near them.

She furrowed a brow when she saw the dejected look on Kopa's face, as the Lion stared towards the entrance where his own sister had walked out on him. Vitani never moved as she trained her gaze on the disheartened Lion. Somewhere deep inside her heart, she felt sorry for him. And it wasn't because she merely pitied the guy, it was because she herself had experienced such rejection. A piece of memory that flashed before her eyes brought her back to several months back when she and her (now former) Outsider pridesisters had merged together with Simba's pride after the union of her brother with Kiara.

Even when they were supposedly united as one, she could vividly recall how the Lionesses from Simba's pride still had distrusted her family members (apart from Kovu) during their first few week in their new home, how they would put on forced smiles that was nothing more than a facade to mask their grudges that they held for her sisters whenever they had to interact with them. She had no doubt that without Simba around, they would have more than gladly booted her family out back into Outlands.

But as distrustful as they were towards her family, it was nothing compared to the cold, bitter treatment that they gave to her. Eventhough it was she who had managed to convince her Outsider sisters to stop the war with Simba and his family, the other Lionesses were still wary and held an unbelievable amount of hate for her, most likely because they found out that she was the one who had earlier sabotaged and had Kiara trapped in a wildfire, which was in fact a part of the late Zira's plans to get Kovu get closer to Kiara and Simba in a cunning scheme to eliminate the latter.

How those Lionesses had ignored and emotionally tormented her was exactly the same mistreatment that Kopa was currently suffering from, only it was much worse for him as it wasn't only the Lioness hunters who rejected him, but also Kiara, his own younger sister. And it was no wonder why Vitani instantly held his pity when she saw how brokenhearted he looked as he sat there in the middle of the den, staring at the opening where he last saw his sister.

She knew for a fact that not even the toughest and ruthless of souls could bear the pain of being rejected by their own loved ones, and just observing him staring miserably at the lonely abyss almost made her want to just jump of from the ledge and rush over to him and give him a comforting hug... but of course, how could she? She was Vitani... and it was not in her nature to feel sorry for other animals' misery and give them comforting hugs. With a silent grimmace, she straightened her posture and observed the brown-maned Lion further, forgetting any sympathy she had for him earlier.

"Yes... he's much like you, isn't he?"

Vitani nearly jumped from her fur when she suddenly heard a voice behind her, thinking for a wild moment that she'd been caught red-handed sneaking into the King and Queen's personal quarters, but her shocked expression immediately morphed into that of spite and annoyance when she turned around and saw a smirking Mandrill wielding a wooden staff, his annoying smile was as if he was mocking her.

"What are you doing here?!" The Lioness hissed, barely managing to keep her voice low to avoid attracting any more unwanted attention.

"Ah... I could ask you the same question!" Rafiki grinned in an almost teasing manner that made her wish she that could just push the old baboon off the ledge and be done with it.

With a huff, the Lioness shot him a warning grimace before settling down again and continued observing the den below her. Maybe if she ignored him long enough and pretend he was never there, the crazy old ape would leave her alone. But to her dismay and uter annoyance, he let out this irritating laugh before hobbling right next to her, causing Vitani to angrily grit her teeth. Why was this elderly shaman always randomly turning up whenever he wasn't wanted? Now she really wished she could just push him off of the ledge.

"Oh, such a pitiful sight..." She suddenly heard him mused to himself. For a moment she thought he was referring to her in another crazy attempt to get her on edge, but stealing a glance towards him made her realized he was actually looking down towards the common area below them. Following his gaze, she saw that his attention was drawn to a particular brown-maned Lion.

Both didn't say anything as they watched Kopa now heading towards the Lioness Hunters who were resting at the other corner of the den. One of them noticed that he was approaching and she immediately alerted her sisters. Vitani let out a disappointed sigh through her nose when she saw her pridesisters got up one-by-one before heading for the exit in an obvious attempt to avoid and belittle him, she even noticed that some of them let out spiteful growls at Kopa as they passed him on their way out.

"Yes... such a pitiful sight..." Rafiki continued. "He really is a male who's rotten and hated by everyone, don't you think?"

Vitani's cerulean orbs widened when the Mandrill spoke his last few words.

" _... a male who's rotten and hated by everyone..._ "

She heard that sentence before... she remembered someone else saying those exact same words before... but who? Cogs and wheels began churning in her mind as she tried to recall from who she had heard utter that same sentence. As she thought back, a single, vague entity slowly appeared in her mind; a gazelle, and to be more specific, it was an elderly gazelle whom she finally remembered coming across a few days ago.

" _Someday, Vitani, you will come across a Lion... a male, a male who's rotten and by everyone..._ "

Finally, everything was clear, she finally remembered. Those were the same words spoken by that dying old gazelle she came across lying weakly on the grass of the Acacia grazing grounds, patiently waiting for his time to come while she was hunting for the pride's lunch. Vitani remembered his final words to her, how he prophesized that she will come across another Lion who was widely hated by everyone around him, yet the said Lion was supposedly to be the key for her 'happy ending to her life story'. Of course, being a skeptic of the supernatural, she naturally dismissed everything he said and guessed that whatever the dying animal spoke was nothing more than mindless drivel.

But then again, as she started staring down back at Kopa, she couldn't help but feel that the brown-maned Lion more or less fit the description of the 'rotten male' the gazelle had talked about. Could it really be such a coincidence? And speaking of coincidences...

She stole a glance to the Mandrill next to her, only to see him already facing her and bearing a subtle smirk on his wrinkled lips, as if he had been reading what was going on in her mind. "Ah... I see you finally remember meeting my late friend, Busara, the wise former leader of the Gazelles," he spoke, confirming her suspicion that his choice of words earlier was anything but a coincidence. But wait... how exactly did that old Mandrill know she met the Gazelle when he wasn't even there?

"How exactly did you know that we met? Have you been spying on me?" She asked with a stern glare, almost demanding for his answer. But of course, no amount of intimidation could ever wipe that smile off the old primate, as he condescendingly leaned against his staff and curtly spoke his response, "Ah... Vitani, I don't need to spy on you to know that! The Great Kings of the Past were the ones who told me..."

The Lioness hitched her breath and desperately tried to control the rage that boiling up in her. Of course, she should have expected such an answer from that old fool. She was at the verge of lashing out at him when he unexpectedly continued, "In fact... you weren't actually talking to Busara that day, Vitani. You were actually talking to the Kings of the Past themselves!"

Vitani felt an eye twitch as she glared intently at Rafiki. His irrational response made her wonder if he really had lost his marbles or was just being senile with her. Either way, she already made up her mind that she wasn't going to waste another second listening to the old fool. "Oh wow... did I really? I'm truly flattered," Vitani jeered sarcastically before turning around to leave.

But before she could move a step ahead, the old shaman quickly leapt and landed right in front of her while letting out a teasing chuckle as he did, much to her annoyance. "That is right! You should be flattered! You are one of the few animals who had the chance to speak with the Great Rulers of the Past!"

The Lioness let out an exasperated sigh, wondering how much longer she had to suffer with the monkey's antics. "Hey, genius, I was just being sarcastic," She sharply quipped with an annoyed frown.

To her further irritance, Rafiki simply let out another annoying laugh before turning around and beckoned for her to follow him, "Well that, you should not be. Here, you follow Rafiki, he will explain to you!"

Vitani was initially reluctant to follow him, but out of curiosity, she decided to give him a chance. He took her to the wall just behind them, that was right beside the entrance of the secret passage she had earlier used to steal into the King and Queen's personal quarters. As they stood facing the wall, she noticed that it contained several finger-paintings, which she easily deduced were made by him. Scrutinizing the paintings briefly, she immediately discerned that the paintings resembled the past and present Royal Families of the Pridelands.

Rafiki caught her attention by gently pointing his staff towards a particular painting that resembled a group of majestic Lions gathering together. "You see, Vitani, there is a secret that has long been around the Pridelands... a secret that very few animals know. Not even Simba and Nala knows about it!"

"Okay... so what is it?" Vitani impatiently asked, now genuinely getting very much interested where this was going.

Rafiki smiled and gave the painting a single tap from his staff. Almost immediately, and much to Vitani's awe, the painting itself began to move. A single glow illuminated around the figures of the Lions and the Lions themselves showed signs of movement, and from afar, it looked like these wise Lions were discussing heavily amongst themselves.

"These Lions are all the great Rulers of the Past," Rafiki explained to Vitani, who had untypically became so wonderstruck with what she was seeing that she let her jaw gaped open and her eyes widened with part-confusion and part-disbelief. The Mandrill certainly enjoyed observing the awe-striken state of the Lioness after she had earlier indirectly made it clear that she dismissed him as an old, senile fool, but still he made sure he didn't get ahead of himself and gently continued,

"It is believed, Vitani, that sometimes, when a wise elderly animal is moments away from completing his journey through the Circle of Life, the spirits of the Great Kings would temporarily possess the body of that dying animal... and any passing animal who comes across it, the Kings will pass on their wisdom to that passing animal."

He gently tapped on the painting of the Lions once again, and, much to Vitani's consternation, the Lions suddenly became distorted as their figures suddenly 'sank' into another painting of an elderly Mandrill lying still on his back, his hands were clasped together on his chest. Vitani approached approached closer to the wall and further scrutinized the painting. She noticed that there was a second Mandrill was painted right next to the laying Mandrill, only this one looked smaller and appeared to be younger.

"Who is that? That can't be you, right?" She asked, nudging her head to the painting of the elderly Mandrill.

Rafiki chuckled, "No... that Mandrill was Zamani... and he was my father." Vitani's eyes widened once again and she turned back to the painting, her gaze was then set upon the painting of the younger Mandrill. "So that one must be..."

"... yes, that is me." Rafiki acknowledged, nodding his head as he completed her sentence. He then rested a palm on the painting of his late father. "You see, Vitani, the wise Zamani had been advisor and Royal Sage to three generations of Kings of the Pridelands, and somewhere along that line, he wanted a successor to continue his work and legacy after his time had come... and so he chose me, his son. But I was still young at that time, and... I was not really interested in anything my father did."

The old Mandrill sadly shook his head, as if displaying the guilt he felt that time all those years ago, even Vitani silently empathized with him. Still, he managed recompose himself and continued, "I was with him during his final hours here... but I never said anything. I was too... sad... and ashamed to speak anything to him. But... instead, he was the one who spoke to me. And he said to me plenty of things, but they were all unusual things I have never heard him say before. After my father finally left, I suddenly realized that everything he said and told me... was not spoken by him. I realized that it was actually the Great Kings of the Past talking and passing down their wisdom and knowledge to me, and it was that moment I know... I was chosen by them to use their wisdom to help the animals of the Pridelands."

Vitani pursed her lips as she absorbed everything that was being told to her. For a moment, her skeptical side made her wonder if the old Mandrill was simply making everything up, but after seeing how he was able to make those paintings move with a single tap of his stick, she reluctantly accepted the fact that the elderly primate, as quirky as he was, held some sort of supernatural wisdom and ability, and so finally trusted his explanation. She took a glance at Rafiki and saw him feeling about the painting of his father, presumably reliving those final minutes he had before his old man left him. She could have sworn she saw a tear trail down the Mandrill's cheek, and it somehow uncharacteristically spurred her to do something to prevent the old primate from being too emotional.

"Well, how 'bout that? Who would've ever thought that you were actually young once," she quipped with a grin while nudging her head towards the painting of Rafiki's younger self. To her relief, he instantly broke into a smile and even let out a brief chuckle.

"Yes... I was quite the trouble-maker when I was younger, that I cannot argue. Believe it or not, I nearly made my father lose his job after I face-painted the late King Mohatu while he was taking his nap! Ho-ho! He was so confused why the other animals were laughing at him when he passed by them shortly after that!"

"Well that I believe," she sneered good-humoredly under her breath, earning an appreciative nod from him. Then, a sudden thought flew into her mind,

"Wait a minute. Are you saying that after that old gazelle spoke to me, I'm supposed to take up a job as a Sage and do all those weird things you do?" She asked with somewhat horror written on her face at the thought of having .

"Heh. If you want to... I could use an apperentice to pass down my knowledge and become my successor," The Mandrill jokingly grinned, causing the Lioness to flash an annoyed and disapproving frown. "But rest assured, Vitani, you are not expected to do so. The Great Kings only expect you to use their words that were passed down to you to help your fellow Pridelanders in any way you can. Now... who is the closest Pridelander you know that could use your assistance?"

It didn't take no more than an instant for Vitani to know exactly who he was talking about. She swiftly turned and headed back to the ledge and observed the happenings going on down below. The common area was now almost completely deserted, except for the two animals she spotted talking to each other near the exit; Kopa and another Lioness whom Vitani immediately recognized was Bahati, the leader of the Lioness hunting party. Though she couldn't hear what exactly they were saying, she noted that both Lion and Lioness looked as if they were at the verge of tears as their conversation dragged on. Then, she saw Bahati miserably shaking her head before quickly making her exit, ignoring Kopa's pleas for her to stay. Vitani remained silent as she watched Kopa dejectedly stare after the den's opening where Bahati last seen.

"Well, Vitani? Are you going to help him?" She heard the Mandrill's voice right beside her. She momentarily turned to face him before looking back at the despondent brown-maned Lion below. Without having any second thoughts, she nimbly hopped down from the ledge, making sure to provide for a soft landing so her target wouldn't hear her before she stealthily sneaked towards him.

Kopa was still emotionally broken as he stared towards the den's opening. After being rejected one-by-one by the other inhabitants of his new home, he wondered if he should just leave the place and head back straight for the Backlands.

"Hey, you okay?"

Vitani nearly smirked with amusement when Kopa suddenly flinched out of startlement before he spun on her. Now being face-to-face with each other, the Lioness finally had a good close-up look of the Lion in front of her and immediately saw the prevailing details on his face that told her he had been crying; his entire fur was a mess, the dried tears plastered his fur against the skin around his eyes and his face was contorted somewhere between a glare, a sob and a look of shock. As embarrassed as Kopa was to be seen in such a disorderly state, he still managed to pull off a polite, last-minute smile as he eventually acknowledged her,

"OH! Oh man, you scared me!" He paused to clear his throat and recompose himself. "Hey, wait a minute. You're Vitani, right?"

"One and only." She curtly replied, though this time she said it with a small grin that graced the corners of her lips.

"Ah, okay..." Kopa continued, trying to fight off the sense of awkwardness that arose as he spoke. "Hey err... how long exactly were you there... and how much did you hear?"

"I heard more than enough."

"Oh." Kopa genuinely had several other questions going on in his mind he wanted to ask Vitani, but somehow, all that he was capable of doing at the moment was stare blankly straight into her her cerulean orbs while the words he wanted to speak were stuck mid-way in his throat.

The Lioness could easily feel the awkwardness of their silence quickly ballooned with each second that passed with neither of them failing to say anything, so she decided to be the first one to break the stillness and proceed with her agenda,

"Listen... I'm about to head of to the Zuberi River, but... I thought I could use some company. I'll try to answer your questions along the way," She said, hoping for Kings' sake that he got the hint she was dropping to him and say 'yes'.

Kopa's eyes widened as he was quite honestly baffled by her invitation and apparent kindness towards him, though he was able to snap from his apparent trance and confirmed her his reply, "Sure, I uh... I'd love to join you!" He managed to blurt with an appreciative smile.

Vitani nodded and flashed a satisfied grin before turning around and walking towards the exit, as Kopa quickly hastened his pace to catch up with her. Together, they walked side-by-side towards the direction of the Zuberi River while enjoying the comfortable silence between them.

 **XXXXXX**

As the scorching afternoon Sun shone brightly above the savanna, Fuli struggled to fight off the tiredness and exhaustion that overcame her body as she strenuously journeyed her way back to her family's den while an equally worn-out Mwamba trailed by her side. She had to admit, walking back home under the afternoon Sun was something that used to be effortless for her, but it had not been that way since she started carrying the precious new life in her lower abdomen.

Ten minutes later, both mother and son were very much relieved when they finally arrived at the entrance of their own humble den, and even more so when they saw a smiling red-maned Lion patiently waiting for them. "Hey, you guys!" Kion cheerfully greeted his mate and adoptive son, though his family didn't seem to possess the same energy as he did by the time they arrived by his side.

"Hey, dad..." Mwamba tiredly returned his father's greeting with a yawn while Fuli only had the strength to give Kion a brief nuzzle before they entered their home.

"Mum, Dad... is it alright if I took an early afternoon nap? I don't think I can stay awake another second..." The young cub asked while drowsily rubbing his eyes the moment he plopped himself at his own corner of the small cave.

"Of course, dear," Fuli responded to him with a motherly smile, to which Mwamba happily shut his eyes before surrendering himself to his beckoning slumber.

Both his adoptive parents smiled contentedly before Fuli decided that she herself could use a little break and possibly even a quick siesta. Kion quietly led her to the other end of their den before settling himself down with Fuli joining him by comfortably laying her body against his.

He smiled as his Cheetah mate lovingly gazed up into his hazel eyes. Neither of them spoke during the brief moment they firmly locked their sights onto each other. "Kion... you're not waiting this long just to give me a simple 'platonic' kiss, are you?" Fuli teased with a slight grin after more than a minute had passed.

Kion let out a soft chuckle, they have always used that line as an excuse for the affection that they showed with each other long before their romance was made official; platonic hugs, platonic nuzzles, platonic kisses... though that didn't seem to fool the other members of the Guard back then who had long suspected that there was certainly a thing going on between those two.

With a sly grin, Kion dipped his head forward and began licking all over her muzzle, much to the gleeful joy of his mate. "Fuli, I assure you that nothing about this is platonic," He whispered into her ear in a husky voice in between his licks, sending a tingling pleasure down her spine. A soft purr escaped the Cheetah's lips as she delightedly surrendered being the passive recipient of his love, relishing every inch of his touch.

"Mmmm... this is definitely the perfect ending to a hectic afternoon I could ever ask for," Fuli sighed as she scooted herself closer against Kion's firm built.

"Heh... and here I thought I was the one having a tough time after having to chase off Jackals and Vultures all morning," He teased with a subtle smirk plastered on his lips.

"Hah! As tough as your morning was, it's nothing compared to having to carry an extra weight in your stomach," She countered with an equally sly grin.

Her Lion mate let out a defeated chuckle and sighed, "Okay, I guess you're right about that. You win."

They exchanged glances one more time before Kion redirected his gaze to his mate's lower abdomen that was slightly bulging as it supported the new life in her womb. He broke into a wide smile as he thought about his unborn cub. Like many others, he and Fuli have wondered how their child would come out to look like. There certainly have never been a hybrid born from the union of a Lion and a Cheetah in the history of the Pridelands... maybe even in the world. Nonetheless, the soon-to-be father kept his hopes that the cub would inherit his leadership abilities and Fuli's resilience and wit; the best parts of both of them.

Fuli saw the smile on her mate's muzzle and got the idea to gently take ahold of his left paw and guided it to her stomach, allowing him to caress her fur around that area. "I love you, Kion..." She dreamily chuffed as the gentle girating motion of his paw sent her closer to her own slumber.

"I love you too, Fuli," He whispered, giving her a brief lick on her nose with a loving smile.

Just as the Cheetah rested her body deeper against his mate and shut her eyes to finally take a well-deserved nap, a random thought suddenly flew into her mind and caused her to flung her eyes open once again. Kion saw this and was quite honestly surprised by it. "You okay? What's wrong?" He gently inquired.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm fine..." She began, quite untruthfully. "Just that... I had a thought, that's all."

"Wanna share it?" He asked, innocently.

A certain heaviness suddenly filled her chest as she was honestly quite reluctant to relay to her mate what had been going on in her mind. But then again, trust was the key element that was the pinnacle of their marriage, and she didn't want him to get the wrong idea by keeping him in the dark of what she was thinking about. With a sigh, she re-positioned herself so she could directly face him, "Kion... I'm actually thinking about Kopa. I'm really worried about him..."

The red-maned Lion raised a brow, he certainly wasn't expecting for her to randomly bring up the topic of his elder brother. "Kopa? Why, what about him?"

She paused to let out a rather sad sigh before she answered, "I think you should know that just before we left Pride Rock, I saw him trying to approach Kiara and... well... let's just say that your sister wasn't too happy to see him, and she even forced Kovu and Hasina to follow her out of the den before he could get anywhere near them."

Kion said nothing as he gazed at her. His elder brother had been with the pride for only two days, and already he had heard of how the Lioness hunters were badly mistreating him. But hearing that Kiara was also distrustful of their brother was news to him, as he had thought that she would be the first one to warm up to him, given her kind-hearted nature. But then again, he was not surprised about it as he himself held certain grudges against the former Backlander.

"Oh... I see." He half-heartedly said, turning his gaze away from Fuli. "I guess she still hasn't trust him yet."

The Cheetah raised a brow as she immediately picked something up from the way he spoke. "What about you? Do you trust him?"

Kion shut his eyes and silently groaned to himself, wishing she hadn't asked him that thorny question. But of course, he had to be honest with her, he guessed that she probably knew the answer anyways, so there was no use of lying. "Okay... I have to admit, I love him because he's my brother and because he saved my life while I was in the Backlands. But if I were to be honest with myself, I have to say I don't really have a single ounce of trust in him. I only pretended that I did the last two days just to protect our Mwamba."

Fuli silently nodded in agreement after his confession. "I believe you," she sighed, momentarily setting her gaze on their sleeping cub. "And I have to admit, while I think he may be a good person on the inside, I don't actually trust him any more than you do. Especially if he's with Mwamba... But I guess that still doesn't change the fact that he's your brother and part of our family."

"No... no it doesn't... quite unfortunately too," Kion sighed, reluctantly agreeing with what she said.

Fuli stared at him for a few seconds, thinking of a possible resolution. "Well... if he's a part of our family, then I think we should do something so that we can start trusting him as a family member. Why don't we spend some time with him some time tomorrow? Just you, me, him and Mwamba? It's the least we could do for him... after what the Lionesses and your sister have put him through anyways."

Kion pinched his lips to the side as he considered her suggestion. He supposed that what she said was right, and that he had start trusting his long-lost brother at some point. Maybe a day out with his own family and Kopa wouldn't be such a bad idea. After all, it would give his brother the chance to spend the day with Mwamba, or Reth who was his biological son. "Alright, we can do that," Kion nodded in acknowledgement at his mate. "Maybe I can even help straighten things out between him and Kiara."

Fuli smiled, glad to have found a solution for part of the family issues that had plagued her extended family for the past few days. With a sigh, resumed her sleeping position by laying on her side and resting her body against Kion's frame and let the comfortable silence in the air lead her to her slumber. Her mate gave her a brief lick to the side of her muzzle before turning his gaze towards the entrance of their den.

Eventhough he sounded enthusiastic at first, he was actually rather skeptical of the plans they've made for Kopa. He didn't tell anyone about it, but a gut feeling in the pit of his stomach had warned him about a possible disastrous calamity that would befall the Pride since the first day his brother had joined them, and what scared him most was the fact that his gut feeling had never been proven wrong before in his life. Releasing a long sigh through his nose, Kion desperately tried to shake off the mind-boggling thoughts in order to enjoy his private moment with his mate, but try as he could, he could not shake off the anxiety of what awaits him and his family in the near future.

 **Important A/n: I usually end the chapter with a 'To be continued..." but unfortunately, I can't do the same for this chapter. When I first started writing this story back in May, I had every intention to finish this story and make it enjoyable for my readers. However, as the chapters and months progressed on, and amid the various setbacks I had to face; writer's block, constrained schedules, the many criticisms I received (both constructive and negative), college-related problems as well as my commitment to my other story on Wattpad, I found my interest and passion for this current story slowly deteriorate with each update I post, and it has gotten so bad that I find it more of a burden and liability than an actual past-time leisure, just as I felt when I wrote this chapter, which you could probably tell by the shortened length and reduced quality.**

 **I'm telling you guys this in advance because I don't want you guys to flame at me when I do decide to stop continuing this story. But rest assured, I'll try to find the help of another author to carry on with my work if I decide to call it quits. But for now, I'm still at uncertainties as to whether I should continue with this fic or not. I'm really sorry if I caused anyone to be upset by this, but I feel I really need to get this off my chest. I will still, however, continue reading and reviewing other stories in the TLK archieve and even provide words of encouragement to aspiring new authors who are new to the fandom where-ever I can.**

 **And to my loyal readers, thank you for all the support you have given me. Again, I apologize if I happen to upset any of you guys.**

 **Sincerely,**

 **yingyangmaster**

 **PS: My thoughts and prayers go to those affected by hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Hope you guys stay safe out there!**


	14. Rising Fury

**Chapter 14: Rising Fury**

As the Sun continued its ascend into the afternoon sky, a lone Lioness was seen trudging through the sands of a barren desert plain right in the heart of the heart of the Backlands, about twenty miles north-east of the Mukuni Woods. Despite the scorching Sun burning right above her head, the endless string of thoughts that raided Akina's mind kept her preoccupied from being bothered by the fervent heat.

The thoughts in her mind brought her back to the Maporomoko Falls at the very edge of the Backlands where she had earlier interrogated Rudo the Raven twenty minutes ago. Her mind began toying about with the information that the avian had kindly provided to her just moments before she disposed of him by throwing him over into the crashing waters of the Falls. Though some burden had finally been lifted from her shoulders as she finally obtained the whereabouts of her ex-husband and her son, her mind was now troubled regarding the location where Rudo revealed they had been seeking refuge all along:

" _The Pridelands_..." she snarled to herself. " _Simba's Kingdom_..."

Her thoughts then began focusing heavily on her next plausible course of actions as she continued walking for the next twenty minutes in the scorching heat, until she finally arrived at her destination: the Lair of the Desert Pride. The lair was actually the remnants of a single, medium-sized rocky hill with a centre that eroded inwards, thus forming a cave that served as the lair. Surrounding the lair were hundreds of square miles of a barren, parching desert plain, hence giving the name of the pride of Lions who lived there.

A total of eight Lionesses were seen sparring each other in pairs just outside the cave, baring their fangs, letting out blood-curdling growls and making use of their powerful forepaws and agility to try and swipe one another and at the same time, to act defensively and prevent from being swiped. Akina stood a few feet away from them and observed each of them intently, the sight of the sparring Lionesses for some reason brought her a sense of reassurance and calm as she watched them.

One of the Lionesses, who sported a distinct tan-coloured pelt and who had bags under her eyes which clearly showed her exhaustion, noticed Akina and pardoned herself from her sparring partner.

"Akina..." she called out as she headed her way.

Akina turned and smiled before giving the approaching Lioness a single nod. "Kulinda..." she acknowledged back as the tan Lioness sat on her haunches next to her. "How is everyone's training? Are they prepared?" She asked in an almost demanding tone.

"We've been training since this morning when you left and hadn't stopped since... and you can see for yourself that we're more than just 'prepared'", she grinned while nudging her head towards the other sparring Lionesses. "What about you? Any luck?"

Akina gave a small nod that was accompanied with an equally small smile on her lips, "The good news is, I managed to find out from... a reliable source where Kopa and my son are."

"And... the bad news?" Kulinda asked cautiously.

"They're both currently in the Pridelands." Akina curtly answered her with a bitter scowl.

The grin that was earlier spread across Kulinda's lips instantly faded as she realized the seriousness that surrounded this crucial piece of information. "So... what do we do now? Do we still go ahead with your plan?"

Akina momentarily stared at the ground with an agitated look on her muzzle before looking back at her Pridesister. "Yes. We'll stick with the original plan. Tell the other Lionesses to take a break, they'll need to reserve their energy for tomorrow." She paused for a couple seconds as another thought suddenly came into her mind. "Have you heard anything from the search party? Have they found my brother?" Akina asked with a hopeful look and a slight crack in her voice.

Kulinda swallowed slightly and the uncomfortable look on her face made it obvious that she wouldn't want to answer her question if she were given the choice. "Well... the search party actually came back an hour ago and they told me that they couldn't find him after covering almost the entire Backlands. They left again half an hour ago to search for the second time, but... Akina... if they still can't find your brother in the other parts of the Backlands, then the only other place that's left to look is Mukuni Woods... and you and I'm pretty sure the animals there aren't going to be friendly with us after... well... y-you know..."

Akina raised a brow at her nervous Pridesister but eventually shook her head slightly to indicate that she wasn't offended by the point that she was trying to reach. It was the truth anyways, that she didn't deny. Her ears folded back and she stared once more towards the ground, clearly upset with the news.

She managed to pull herself together and hide her emotions as she looked back at the Lioness in front of her after a few seconds and continued in a more serious tone, "Whatever it is, I'll have to worry about that some other time. Right now, I want the others to stop their training and rest until the search party arrives back. Once everyone's gathered, I'll brief you all once more for tomorrow's plans. Understood?"

"Err... understood..." Kulinda gave her a single hesitative nod, though Akina could sense there was a tinge of doubt in her voice. Kulinda turned as if she was about to leave, but, just as Akina expected, she glanced back at her and timidly asked, "Um... Akina... I've known you for a long time... and there has never been a moment where I have doubted your judgments. But... may I ask, do you really think it's wise for us to go after Kopa now that we know he's in the Pridelands? I mean... we already made a peace treaty with King Simba a few years back, so I really don't think..."

Her sentence was cut short when she received a threatening growl and an admonishing glare from Akina, making her realize that it was probably wiser for her to simply keep her mouth shut and not incurring her Pridesister's wrath by further expressing her thoughts. "I-I'm sorry, Akina... it wasn't my place to ask," she quietly whispered while avoiding from meeting her gaze before promptly turning around and heading towards the other Lionesses.

Akina sternly watched Kulinda who had began calling out to the others and giving them orders to halt with their sparring and to head towards the cave so they can have a quick siesta while waiting for the other Lionesses who were part of the search party. The expressions on Akina's muzzle was somewhat bitter at first, but it gradually softened with regret as she began to wish that she hadn't intimidated Kulinda earlier. She had known the tan-furred Lioness since they were both cubs and she had always maintained a close bond with her. Seeing the look of hurt on her Pridesister's face made Akina wonder if she was allowing her emotions and hunger for vengeance get the better of her.

She violently shook her head, desperate to get these sort of thoughts from her mind. No... she couldn't afford to start doubting herself just when she's about to set her plans in motion, plans that will ultimately benefit herself and the rest of her pride... if it were successful, that is. As such, she saw it as her duty to make sure that the plans and goals that she meticulously planned out were accomplished within the targeted time frame that she had set for herself. Her Pride had recently experienced a major downfall for the last few months, but with her temporary leadership and the loyalty and efficiency of her fellow Lionesses, she was certain that she could lead her Pride back into their peaceful, glory days.

Straightening her posture, Akina walked past their Lair just as her fellow Lionesses were entering it, and she continued walking a few feet further behind the rock formation until she reached a particular spot where a noticeable mound was formed from within the desert sand. With one powerful swipe of her paw, she struck the particular spot with her unsheathed claws, causing the sand to fly everywhere. Once the dust had settled, it was revealed that the 'mound' was actually the rotting corpse of a deceased male Lion that lay on the ground and covered by a thick layer of sand.

The corpse had completely withered to the bone after being exposed to the desert heat for a long time, though a straggly patch of dirty auburn mane remained attached to the top part of the skull and what used to be the Lion's chest. Despite the pungent smell of death that lingered in the air surrounding the corpse, Akina took in a deep breath as if she was taking in the scent of a fresh bouquet of flowers and even used a paw to playfully ruffle about with the patch of mane that covered the skull, a sadistic smile curved upwards at the corners of her lips as she did so. Her odd demeanour was interrupted a minute later when she heard another female voice talking behind her,

"I thought I'd find you here."

Akina looked behind to see a silver-tan Lioness approaching her, the same one that was seen sparring with Kulinda earlier. Akina took a moment's glance at the Lioness before she continued ghosting her paw across the entire length of the rotting corpse, almost absent-mindedly as if she were under some sort of a deep trance. The other Lioness observed her Pridesister quietly, though she didn't seem to be at all surprised by Akina's queer actions.

"You know... I never really got the chance to properly thank you for liberating us from that horrible monster," The Lioness eventually spoke again, causing Akina to pause with her fidgeting with the corpse and sitting up straight.

"You don't have to thank me, Upesi. You all helped yourselves to free each other," She said, flashing a quick smile at the Lioness' way before setting her gaze back on the deceased Lion. "I can only imagine what he did to you all for the last four months." She said, while setting a paw on the corpse's dirty auburn mane once again.

The silver-tan Lioness who was named Upesi shuddered slightly as Akina's words triggered a rather unpleasant memory. "It's better you don't imagine it at all. He treated us all like his personal harem... he would do the job on any one of us who was nearest to him whenever a gentle breeze blew past his balls. He... he did that to me twice... and I really couldn't do anything about it."

Akina couldn't help but throw a pitiful look at her as Upesi's voice became coarsed when she spoke her last sentence. Upesi managed to straighten her posture and tried to swallow her tears before she continued, "You know... throughout the last four months, the only thing we could ever hope for was that you and your brother would return and help save us from that beast. We really missed your elder brother... during our darkest days, we almost forgot what it felt like to have a male leader who actually respected us and not treat us like sex slaves..."

A small smile slowly began to form on Akina's lips at the mention of her elder brother. "You know, Upesi... I've always loved my brother. Since I was born, he was always overprotective with me, making sure I didn't wander too far from the Pride or getting caught in some of those quicksand not far from our Lair."

Both Lionesses shared a moment of light laughter at Akina's fond recollection of her brother. "I've always looked up to him... and even more so when he became the leader of our Pride. Since that day, I always believed in him to protect me and the rest of the Pride from whatever danger that comes our way."

"And he did!" Upesi added almost automatically, earning an appreciative smile from Akina. "Fighting off all those rogues in the past who tried to usurp him and coming up with a peace treaty with King Simba to avoid any future conflict with the Pridelanders... your brother was the best leader our Pride has ever had."

"Yeah... he was," Akina continued, her smile still plastered on her lips, though a heavy feeling of unrest began to put a burden on her chest at the mention of the peace treaty her brother had made with King Simba. "Anyways..." she continued, trying to put aside that thought from her mind. "As months passed since my brother became leader, I realized he started developing a weakness; he became weak and fragile as he aged. And this rotten beast over here proved that I was correct..." She said with a snarl while directing a growl at the corpse. Her anger soon faded, however, and her ears folded back with remorse. "I just... I just wished I could have done more to help my brother."

Upesi could feel the regret in her tone of voice and decided to place a comforting paw on her back, "Hey... you can't blame yourself. That beast was just too powerful for either of you. You and your brother put up a hard fight... but he was just too strong and powerful."

Akina took in a deep breath and released it through her mouth, accepting her Pridesister's words. "You know... during the days when me and my brother were exiled... I decided to myself that it was my turn to protect him. I swore to myself I'll never allow anyone else to harm my brother. Yet... later on... I fell in love with the one Lion that did exactly just that."

"You mean your ex-husband Kopa?" Upesi inquired.

Akina let out a furious snarl at the mention of that name and gritted her teeth. "He was never my mate! Our marriage was just a sham... and I was too dumb to realize it earlier. In the end... my brother... and now my son... had to pay the price for my stupidity."

By now, Upesi felt even more sorry at her Pridesister's self-hatred and so she gave her a friendly nudge, "You don't have to keep on blaming yourself for what has happened. Once we go ahead with your plan tomorrow, everything will be back the way it was. We'll get your son back... we'll find your brother and make him our leader again... and we'll find Kopa and make him pay for what he's done to you and your brother. Tomorrow, all our problems will be settled... even if we have to make certain sacrifices."

Upesi's encouraging words had definitely lifted Akina's spirits again as she flashed another grateful smile at her, despite understanding what she had meant by her last sentence. The two Lionesses sat together in silence for the next few minutes before both decided it was time to head back to the Lair. Just as they started walking ahead, Akina looked behind and gave one last glance at the rotting corpse before continuing her way, a satisfied grin spread across her muzzle.

 **XXXXXXX**

Back in the Pridelands, a few dark clouds showered the savanna with some light drizzle for a few minutes before the rain eventually let up, allowing the warm evening Sun to blanket the landscape one last time with a breathtaking aura of crimson and gold. Walking across the grasslands of the Mbali fields, Kopa followed after Vitani's lead as the two Lions made their way to the Zuberi River.

Vitani didn't bother to take cover from the brief drizzle along the way earlier, and now, bathed in the evening daylight, Kopa felt she looked absolutely stunning; the raindrops that matted down her fur made her coat gleam under the sun's rays and just watching her walk was enticing for the brown-maned Lion, she looked so peaceful, so delicate and with all her curves in the right places-

Kopa barely managed to aim his gaze in another direction just as Vitani suddenly stole a glance behind her, and Kopa silently prayed for his dear life that she hadn't caught him staring at her. Luckily for him, she turned and looked forward again an instant later, and he quietly let out a silent sigh of relief. Knowing what kind of Lioness she was, Kopa couldn't bear to imagine what Vitani would have done to him if she caught him ogling her. Considering that they barely knew each other and the fact that she's obviously hanging out with him out of her pity, he decided he had better put a lot of self-control on his eyeballs and made sure they weren't looking at the wrong things whenever he's with her.

It wasn't long before both Lions arrived at the top of a steep hillside that overlooked a rapid-moving river that flowed several feet below them. Vitani took her place at the very edge of the cliff, sitting on her haunches and aiming her gaze at the river below. Behind her, Kopa hesitated at first, not knowing whether he should join her by her side or simply hold his ground where he was standing at the moment. He eventually decided it would be polite of him to sit beside her instead of hanging around behind her and appearing to be an anti-social. He casually walked up to her and sat to Vitani's left before trailing after her gaze to the river down below as well.

Minutes passed by and all that could be heard were the gurgling sounds of the river and the rustling of leaves of a nearby acacia tree blown about by a gentle breeze. Vitani had not moved a muscle since she sat at the edge and her gaze remained fixed to the river below. Kopa on the hand would intermittently steal a glance at her direction through his peripheral vision only to see that she remained as still as a rock as she stared at the swift-moving waters beneath them. It had been too long since they arrived at the location and Kopa was starting to feel awkward and a little uncomfortable by the fact that neither of them had spoken anything yet.

"So... quite a nice spot you picked here," he finally decided to speak, trying to get some small talk going on between them to shun away the awkwardness. "You um... you come here often?"

Vitani turned slightly towards his direction before staring down again. "As much as I can," she replied almost monotonously, fixing her gaze back towards the river.

Kopa nodded quietly, though he was quite disappointed with her rather brusque reply. "I see..." he continued, hoping to get the conversation going. "Well, I can definitely see why you like hanging around here, the view here is definitely unique!" he said, trying to sound genuinely enthusiastic. "Let see, um... you have the majestic river flowing below... this uh... this wonderful hillside with all its grass, and err... that beautiful acacia tree right behind us..."

Of course, everything he described were all common sightings throughout the savanna and didn't really qualify as being 'unique', but he merely said it in hopes that Vitani would eventually join in on the conversation. Vitani, on the other hand, honestly thought he sounded pathetic right now and so decided to say something to keep him from blabbering on.

"Kopa... has anyone told you exactly what had happened here?"

Kopa raised his brows, surprised at her question. "Um... no, not really. Why? What's happened here?"

Vitani nodded as if she already expected his answer. Her expressions softened slightly and she nudged her head towards the direction behind them, "You know, this hillside behind us was where me and my Pridesisters were accepted to be part of Simba's pride many months ago." She then trailed her gaze back to the river below. "And there... right there in the Zuberi river... was where I last saw my mother, Zira."

Now it all made sense for the brown-maned Lion. Kion had told him about the Outsider Lionesses and their eventual merging with Simba's pride during his first night at Pride Rock, and now he knew why Vitani seemed to be rather attached to the location they were at.

"I didn't exactly enjoy my cubhood days," Vitani continued, snapping Kopa from his chain of thoughts. "When me and my siblings were younger, our mother made us go through all sorts of rigorous training so we would be prepared for the day we would kill Simba. All that we were ever taught was bringing pain and suffering to others... and it shaped me the way I am today..."

She paused to hold back the unshed tears that were slowly filling the corners of her eyes and at the same time, narrowing her gaze into the rushing waters below as if she was talking to the river instead of the Lion sitting quietly next to her. "I try to come here as often as I can to remind myself that my mother is no longer here and my our Prides are no longer are war... and also, to remind myself that I'm free to be whatever I wanna be..."

"And... what do you wanna be?" Kopa asked, rather quietly.

Vitani stared at him for a few moments before deviating her gaze away from him. "I just wanna be someone who can easily talk and... make friends with others. I'm tired of other animals feeling awkward or uncomfortable whenever they're talking to me, or rather... when I'm talking to them. They don't show it, but I definitely sense that in them. And that's why I always end up being sarcastic; because I know they're not comfortable talking with me and I'm angry at them for that. It's a bad habit... but it's a habit that I can never seem to get rid of."

Kopa said nothing as he watched her. He could definitely relate to what she just told him, considering that he himself was actually intimidated by her presence and the way she spoke to him when she earlier invited him to tag along with her to the River. Yet, after seeing how open she was when she lamented her emotions to him, yes, to him; a stranger she only knew for three days, his initial perceptions of her had completely changed. Amazingly, underneath that brash and fearless exterior that was the persona of 'snarky, sarcastic Vitani', he saw and heard for himself that there existed a tender and compassionate Lioness, and one who in turn, longed for the compassion of others as well.

"Wow... looks like you and I are longing for the same thing, huh?" He finally spoke, causing Vitani to look at him with a raised brow. "I mean, look at me, I just joined back with the Pride that I was born into, yet everyone around me is ignoring me and treating me as if I don't belong here, except for my parents and younger brother, that is."

This time, Vitani remained silent. She had been focusing too much on her own shortcomings that she forgot that this Lion next to her was undergoing something that was much worse-

Just then, her lone thought suddenly brought her back a piece of memory that had been lurking about at the back of her mind.

" _Someday, Vitani, you will come across a Lion... a male, a male who's rotten and hated by everyone. He will be the key to change everything around the both of you..._ "

The last words of that dying gazelle she came across the other had never left her, and now, as she stared into his hazel eyes, the words started blaring in her ears as she finally realized that the brown-maned Lion next to her was the one that the gazelle was talking about. She was skeptical about it at first, but now that everything was clear as day, she was certain that he was the one. And her body seemed to realized it too; she suddenly felt her heart racing at an outrageous speed within her chest and her eyes were wandering about and taking in every single detail about his body; his flowing chestnut-brown mane that waved in the wind, the beefy muscles that graced his powerful legs, his well-defined jawline made him appear even more... sexy. She hadn't noticed any of his features since he first arrived at Pride Rock, but now that he was only a foot away from her, she couldn't help but savour the tiniest detail of his-

"Um... Vitani?"

The Lioness blinked hard twice and realized that she had been staring at him for an entire minute, an entire minute too long. "Sorry..." she mumbled, looking hastily away from him and clearing her throat.

Kopa had been following the movements of her eyes the entire minute she was staring at him, and needless to say, he was honestly quite flattered by the fact that she was actually checking him out. Vitani had once again directed her gaze back to the river below. Kopa trailed after her gaze but this time with a small, amused smile plastered on his lips. Another couple of minutes had passed and the silence once again returned between them, that was, until another sudden thought flew into Kopa's mind, "Hey, 'Tani? May I ask you something?"

Vitani's heart started pounding against her chest again and she silently prayed that his question didn't have anything to do with her actions earlier. "What is it?" she responded, trying her level best to sound uninterested.

"Is my sister always like that?"

Vitani was beyond relieved that he didn't ask her anything that would force her to be on the defensive, but she was still unclear of his rather vague question. "Always like how?"

"You know... guilt-tripping everyone who hurts her feelings?"

The Lioness chuckled slightly as she remembered how Kiara had literally shoved her family out of the den when Kopa was about to approach and have a conversation with her. "Well... not that I know of. She's actually sweet most of the time... although she can be very stubborn."

Kopa nodded, relieved to hear that his long-lost sister wasn't as bitter as he thought she was. "Okay... so that means she doesn't actually hate me... right?"

Vitani pinched her lips to the side, as if carefully considering what her answer should be. "Kinda hard to tell... considering you actually threatened to kill her just three nights ago," she finally replied with a smirk, causing the Lion's expressions to fall as he mumbled a disappointed, "Oh."

"But..." Vitani continued. "I guess I can have something arranged so that you can personally ask her yourself tomorrow."

Kopa looked as if he was about to dramatically blurt out how that was the worst idea imaginable, but she held up a paw and continued with an encouraging smile, "Don't worry... it's like I said before, she's actually a very sweet person who can get a little sensitive at times. I'll talk to her first so she'll go easy on you. At least, if all goes well... you have one less Lioness who thinks you're a total jerk and have no place in our Pride."

The way she snarkily said her last sentence actually humoured the brown-maned Lion, and now even he couldn't help but share a grin with her. "Wait... you're actually helping me?"

"Sure... it's the least I could do," Vitani replied, only this time with a genuine, sincere smile spread across her lips, a feature that was rarely seen on her muzzle.

"Wow... gee, thanks! I err... I really appreciate it!" Kopa hesitantly responded back, sharing an appreciative smile with her.

"Don't get used to it," she smirked before looking forward and setting her gaze at the view of the evening Sun that was slowly sinking into the horizon.

Kopa followed suit and gazed at the view before them. He certainly never expected that so many things could happen in the few minutes he hung out with her. And as the Sun dipped lower into the horizon and slowly marking the end of the day, his heart became hopeful of the things that were to come tomorrow. He just hoped that Kiara would give him a chance to apologize to her and maybe even consider spending some time with him. He had to admit though, it sounded a little too hopeful at the moment, but he was confident things would eventually work between him and his long-lost sister, and then they can all be one big happy family again.

Yet, for some reason, somewhere deep in the pit of his guts, he suddenly received an unnerving feeling that something would go wrong tomorrow... he wasn't sure why he suddenly felt that way, but he didn't want to ruin the positive vibes he was having at the moment and decided to ignore this 'feeling'. Little did he know, this was a mistake he would eventually regret later on.

 **End of Chapter 14**

 **A/n: I know Akina's backstory is a little hazy at the moment, but we'll know her full story on Chapter 16, as told by Kopa himself. Hope you guys enjoyed the update, and I'm sorry that it was a little shorter than the other chapters. Please do leave a review as I appreciate your honest and encouraging feedbacks :) Have a great day ahead, everyone, and I'll see you in the next update :D**

 **PS: I've written a new book, The Lion King: Journey to the Sacred Lands. Would appreciate if you guys could take the time to check it out and maybe comment your thoughts on how I did for the first part of the story :)**


	15. Thicker Than Water

**Chapter 15: Thicker Than Water**

Dawn arrived once again over the African savanna, as the Sun peeked just above the horizon of mountain ranges and marking the beginning of another day for the savanna's animals. Over at the furthest end of the Backlands and deep within the dense trees and thick underbrush of the Miti jungle, a tan-coated male Caracal was seen casually walking among the trees and smacking his lips heavily. He had just had a hearty meal of feeding on a recently-deceased antelope for his early breakfast and was now heading for the river that flowed through the jungle for a few sips of water.

The river that flowed through there was calm and slow-moving, and served as the main source of water for all the animals that lived in that particular part of the Backlands, though none of them actually knew where the river originated from. Hovering his muzzle right above, he rapidly dipped his tongue into the river and began quenching his thirst, savouring the feel of the cold, refreshing water filling his mouth and flowing down his throat. His eyes were shut as he calmly continued taking his drink, as he wasn't expecting anything to happen while he tended to his thirst.

 _Thud!_

The caracal's eyes shot open again when he felt something lightly nudged the side of his muzzle while he was halfway through his drink. He almost disbelieved his eyes when he saw the body of a black-cloloured bird floating on the surface of the water where his muzzle had been a few milliseconds ago before it continued drifting along the shallow currents of the slow-moving river. The feline's eyes followed after it, wondering how on Earth did the bird end up drowning in the river. He looked towards the heavens and saw that the morning skies were as clear and bright as day; not exactly the kind of weather that could possibly down an avian in mid-flight. He then turned his gaze back to the floating body as it moved further and further away from him. Overwhelmed by curiosity, the caracal finally decided to go after it.

It didn't take him much energy to do so, as all he needed to do was slightly hasten his pace and use his jaws to scoop the body from the water before gently placing the avian on its back on the soft soil of the riverbank. The caracal cocked his head to the side, as he observed the drenched, motionless body of the black-feathered bird, wondering what he should do. At any other time, he would have considered the downed avian as nothing more than a free snack he could munch on for breakfast, but considering he just had a hearty meal of antelope just minutes ago, the thought of devouring the bird never crossed his mind. Instead (and not knowing what else to do), he placed a paw on the bird's breast and gave a sharp nudge, causing water to spurt out violently from its gaping beak and onto the ground.

The feline waited for a reaction, his paw still rested on the bird's breast, yet seconds passed and the body remained as motionless as ever. He gave another sharp nudge, this time causing more water to gush out from the beak. Again, the caracal paused and waited for a reflex, though yet again, there was not even the tiniest bit of movement that came from the bird. The caracal finally shrugged and decided to move away from the body. There was no point in putting any more effort in trying to revive something that was already dead.

Or so he thought.

He took no more than a few steps ahead when he suddenly heard the sound of heavy coughing and spluttering from where he had just left. Looking back, he saw the bird coughing out the remnants of the river water that nearly drowned its lungs while still laying on its back. Intrigued, the caracal doubled back and slowly approached the bird. It was still coughing heavily, but soon it stopped and in turn, took in a huge gasp for air as it desperately tried to sit up and stand on its own two feet, though it proved to be in vain as it collapsed onto its back again with a loud "Oomph!" that was followed by a heavy, injured groan.

The feline approached closer, noting that the 'resurrected' bird didn't seem to be aware of its presence. "Hey, buddy! You okay?" The caracal asked with genuine concern as it towered over the bird.

The avian rapidly blinked its eyes, trying to focus his blurred vision on the other animal that seemed to be speaking to him. Though once his vision finally cleared, the first thing he unfortunately saw were razor-sharp fangs that protruded from the caracal's muzzle.

"AAAH! DON'T EAT ME!" it screamed out, shielding its face with both his dripping-wet wings while trembling uncontrollably in fear.

The caracal let out a bemused sigh while rolling its eyes in annoyance. "Okay, look. If I wanted to eat you, I would've easily done so in the blink of an eye and you wouldn't even be screaming like a girl right now. But instead, I decided to trouble myself by trying to revive you, and this is how you acknowledge the animal that just saved your life?" He dryly snapped at the avian, finishing his sentence off by sharply raising a brow at him and maintaining an unsatisfied frown on his muzzle.

The bird carefully peeked from the feathers of its wings at first, though he finally moved them aside so he could take a better look at his alleged saviour. "W-wait... you saved-"

"Yeah, I did. You're welcome." the caracal huffed, still rather annoyed at first, though he soon relaxed and was able to put on a much friendlier face.

The black-feathered avian nodded his thanks and then decided to try to get up on his feet again. This time, he struggled hard enough to successfully get off from his back and stand on his talons. Using what little energy he had left, he violently shook his body to dry his drenched feathers, and the caracal soon realized that the bird he had just saved was actually a black-feathered Raven.

"So, uh... I've been meaning to ask, how exactly did you end up almost drowning yourself?"

The Raven stared blankly at the caracal before sudden images of a certain Lioness throwing him off a steep waterfall began flashing before his eyes, causing him to wince at the gory imagery. He managed to snap himself from it and then began looking from the caracal to the towering trees that surrounded them. "Uh... before I answer that... may I ask you, where exactly am I?"

"Well, you're right in the middle of the Miti jungle! Home to some of the finest-tasting antelopes and okapis that you can't find anywhere else in the Savanna!" He proudly declared with a grin, though it vanished a second later when he noticed the crestfallen look on the avian's beak.

"M-Miti jungle? You mean to say I'm all the way at the furthest end of the Backlands?" The Raven nervously asked for clarification.

"Yeah, that's right. Why? Is that a problem?" The caracal asked, noticing the mortified look on the Raven's face when he answered.

The bird let out a rather long and disappointed groan before aiming his gaze straight for the ground. And there he stared for the next full minute, the cogs and wheels rapidly churning in his mind as he began assessing the situation. Then, he finally looked up back at the caracal who had been observing him and was wondering what exactly was going on.

"Listen, I need your help," The Raven spoke to him with a sense of utmost urgency embedded in his voice. "There's this friend of mine... his life is in danger, but he doesn't know it yet. I have to go and warn him, but I'm too exhausted to fly right now. Please, I'm literally begging you... can you please help me get to my friend?"

The feline was clearly taken aback, judging by the surprised look that was evident on his muzzle when the Raven pleaded to him. He certainly wasn't acclimated to being put in a situation that escalated rather quickly. One moment he was drinking peacefully by the river and minding his own business, and the next, he's being asked by this Raven whom he's never met before to help out in saving an acquaintance of his. This certainly was going to be one heck of a morning.

"Well... um..." the Caracal began uneasily, sensing the Raven's desperation as the bird gazed hopefully into his eyes. "I uh... I guess I can help. I don't really have any plans for the rest of the day, so um... yeah, I guess I can give you a ride to your friend. Where's he at?"

Finally calming down from the tension upon hearing this, the avian released a breath of relief. "Alright... thank you." He began. "Okay, my friend is over at the Pridelands. Do you think you can... Wait a minute." He was cut off mid-sentence when a sudden thought flew into his mind. No, he can't enter that place by himself... not after what happened a few nights ago. No, he had to get some back-up first before he could get anywhere near the vicinity. "Err... scratch that. I need to go to the Mukuni Woods instead. How fast do you think you can get me there?"

"The Mukuni Woods?" The caracal exclaimed, puzzled by the sudden change of destination. "Well... even if I were to run all the way there, I think it would take me at least three or four hours tops. So I'd say four and a half hours is a more realistic estimate..."

"Then there's no time to lose!" The avian almost shouted as he used whatever energy that was left in him to flutter his wings and barely managed to lift himself off of the ground and settle on the caracal's broad back.

"Alright, hold on tight!" the feline warned to his 'passenger' before taking off, dashing through the trees and thick underbrush as they began their four-hour journey to the Mukuni Woods.

 **XXXXXX**

All the way over at the Pridelands, Kiara, Kovu and their daughter Hasina entered the den of Pride Rock after having a rather peaceful time together as a family during their routine morning stroll that they took around their Kingdom earlier. There was no-one else in the den as the Lioness hunters had already went off for their morning hunt and Simba and Nala have yet to arrive back from their meeting at the Elephant's territory along with Zazu.

Surprisingly (and much to Kiara's relief), Kopa was also nowhere to be found, which was unusual as he had always spent his mornings hanging around in his own corner of the den until midday since the day he first arrived, though Kiara couldn't really be bothered by this. She still held a strong grudge against her long-lost elder brother, and the lesser he's around in the den, the better.

"Whoa, cool! We've got the whole den to ourselves!" Hasina exclaimed as she giddily scampered about the vacant common area of the lair as her parents watched her with warm smiles on their muzzles. "Daddy, can we play hide-and-seek? Pleeease?"

Kovu let out a good-hearted chuckle as he lightly nuzzled his rather hyperactive daughter. "Eh-heh, I'm sorry Hasina, but you have to reserve your energy for your hunting lessons after this."

"Yes, and we have a lot to do if we want to improve your tracking skills by today," Kiara added in her usual motherly tone, smiling down at her cub.

"Oh... well, okay then!" Hasina responded, just as enthusiastically before she suddenly took off towards the furthest corner of the den where they usually slept. "Hang on a second, I want to take something first!"

Her parents smiled as they watched her scamper away from them. Once she was out of their ear-shot, Kovu looked around them, as if to make sure that they were truly alone before giving his mate a slight nudge. "Um... Kiara? I was thinking... why don't I handle Hasina's training for today? Just her and myself?"

Kiara was slightly taken aback as she gazed at her mate, who was now smiling quite uncomfortably at her and causing the Lioness to suspect that he was on to something. "Really? That's... quite nice of you." She began, raising a brow and giving him a sly, questioning look (with, of course, the intention of teasing him rather than to actually intimidate her soft-spoken mate). "Why, do you think I'm not good enough to build up our daughter's tracking skills?"

"What? N-no!" Kovu exclaimed defensively, much to Kiara's further amusement. "No of course not... it's just that... you've been handling Hasina's lessons the whole of yesterday, I thought I'd take over from you and... give you some time to yourself."

Kiara pretended to pierce through his gaze and scrutinized his tensed face intently, which, again, was for her own amusement before she finally relaxed and gave him a single nod. "Alright... I guess I could use some me-time for today," she answered with a grin, causing Kovu to ease up and put on an obviously relieved smile.

Though Kiara still suspected that her mate had a hidden agenda of his own, she still had faith in him that he would never do anything that will end up hurting her or jeopardizing their family. That was what their marriage had always been built on; trust.

"Okay, I'm ready for my hunting lessons!"

Both adults shifted their attention as Hasina reappeared in the common area, only this time she clutched onto a baobab fruit in her jaws. Her parents had to stifle their chuckles at such an adorable sight of their daughter dragging the fruit that was almost the same size as her in her mouth.

"Sweetie... what on Earth is that baobab fruit for?" Kovu asked with a slight laughter that he couldn't hold back.

"To play Baobab ball with you during the lesson breaks, of course!" She replied enthusiastically as she beamed at her father with her gleaming eyes.

"Okay... if that's your idea of a 'break'," Kovu chuckled as he ruffled his daughter's head. "Well, let's go then." He said, turning to start heading towards the den's opening.

"Hey, wait! Isn't Mum coming with us?" The little cub asked, looking slightly confused.

Her mother chuckled in response and nuzzled her daughter. "Apparently, your father has decided to take over your training, so it'll just be the two of you for today."

"Oh... well, alright. We'll see you later in the evening then, Mum!" Hasina replied as she nuzzled back her mother before picking up the Baobab fruit in her mouth and scampering towards the exit without even waiting for her father.

Kovu sighed at the sight of his cub disappearing through the den's opening and hurriedly gave Kiara a quick nuzzle and a few parting words. "We'll see you back here in evening," he smiled at his grinning mate before dashing off after Hasina. "Have fun, and enjoy yourselves!"

Kiara jerked her head back and cocked an eyebrow in confusion when her sharp ears picked up the error in Kovu's last sentence. For a moment, she wondered why he had said "enjoy yourselves" instead of "yourself", though she dismissed it as she thought that she probably misheard him. But then again, she still couldn't help but feel that Kovu was hiding something from her, and her inner stubbornness started screaming at her to start finding out what it is.

She almost thought of acting on her impulses and start snooping after Kovu and their daughter when her eyes suddenly caught sight of the emptiness of the den around her. With not a single soul besides herself in the lair, everything around her was peaceful and tranquil that she could even hear the movements of the gentle breeze that blew past the den's opening. An extremely rare moment that she sometimes longed for during the hectic days since Hasina was born and especially since the day Kopa made his arrival.

Oh well... whatever Kovu's up to, I'm sure it won't be anything serious, she lazily thought to herself as she went over to her family's corner of the den before stretching herself and comfortably curling herself up and shutting her eyes with a sleepy smile that graced her lips.

Outside of Pride Rock, Kovu had to tear down the pathway along the kopje just to keep up with Hasina, who was already waiting patiently for her father at the base. The dark-maned Lion was panting heavily by the time he arrived by his daughter's side.

"Wow... sweetie, you've got the genes of an excellent runner, don't you?" He puffed, almost out of breath, though he still managed to put on a smile as he approached her.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Hasina replied sweetly. "Though I think it's obvious I didn't really get those genes from you."

Kovu let out a chuckle upon hearing his daughter's response, earning a smug look from her. "Ha ha... very funny," he replied back half-heartedly though his smile never left his lips. That was the first time he heard her making a rather snarky remark, and it reminded him of his equally quippish sister.

And speaking of which...

"Hasina, can you do me a favor? Can you stay still right here for awhile while I... look for something real quick?" He suddenly asked the young cub.

Hasina looked at her father with a rather surprised look on her face, wondering what her father was up to. "Oh... um, okay... I guess."

Kovu nodded and gave a quick ruffle to her head. "Thank you, sweetie. I won't be long!" He said to her as he walked over to a nearby bush a few feet away before disappearing behind it, much to Hasina's further curiosity.

Protected by the cover of the thick shrubs, a Lioness was already there waiting for Kovu, alongside a particular brown-maned Lion who stood next to her. The moment Kovu's grinning face appeared, both their faces brightened, clearly relieved to see him.

"Hey, Vitani!" Kovu smugly greeted the Lioness, giving her a brief, brotherly nuzzle to which she happily returned it.

He then turned to the male Lion sitting on his haunches next to his sister. "And a pleasure to see you too, Kopa," Kovu grinned at him while giving him a pat on the back.

"Pleasure's all mine," the brown-maned Lion nodded back in acknowledgment.

Vitani let out an impatient huff and interrupted the two males. "Alright, alright! Enough with the formalities, you two already know each other!" she hissed, earning a look of bemusement from her brother. "Look, is Kiara up there by herself or not?"

"Yup, she's up there all right," Kovu calmly responded, unmoved by Vitani's impatience. "It's all up to you now, Kopa." He continued, facing towards the brown-maned Lion.

Kopa nodded, grateful for his help. "Yeah, I know. And I really can't thank you enough to help set this up. I really appreciate it, Kovu."

"Sure, always happy to help."

Eventhough it wasn't obvious, Kovu could sense the tension that was building up within the brown-maned Lion and so he decided to give him a few words of encouragement. "Hey, you don't have to worry about a thing, alright? Kiara isn't usually like this. She can never hold a grudge against someone for so long. You just need to use the right words to talk some sense into her, and she'll be getting along with you before you know it."

Kopa nodded once again, more than glad to accept his advice. "Thanks... I really hope you're right. I just wanna make peace with Kiara to get rid of the guilt and be able to sleep peacefully tonight. But hey, thanks again for helping me out, Kovu. I really appreciate it."

"Yeah, no problem. Besides, I'm more than happy to lend a paw to my future brother-in-law!" Kovu cheekily responded while stealing a glance at his sister to flash her a sly wink before quickly turning around and dashing off towards where he left Hasina. "Gotta go!"

"Kovu..." Vitani growled with bared teeth and claws unsheathed, though her brother was long gone before she even had the chance to strike him for his teasing.

She turned to the only male left with her, who was bashfully looking away to hide his blush from her after Kovu's parting words had placed them in a rather awkward situation, causing the Lioness to roll her eyes in exasperation. "Forget about what he said. Go on, now's your chance!"

Kopa managed to turn and gave her one last look before stepping outside from the underbrush. The coast was clear, as Kovu had already left with Hasina to begin with their lessons. Kopa looked behind to see his only friend nodding encouragingly from the cover of shrubs, mentally preparing him to face with his sister. Taking a deep breath, he walked towards Pride Rock and began making his ascend towards the den.

 **XXXXXXX**

Kiara was only ten minutes in with her once-in-a-blue-moon mid-morning siesta when her sharp ears picked up the sounds of footsteps heading towards her before it abruptly stopped and was followed by a painfully familiar voice that caused her to wince in her sleep.

"Hey... um, Sis... can I talk to you for a second?"

She opened her eyes to see the familiar figure of her elder brother standing timidly a few feet away from her. Though she was beyond irritated by his very presence, she somehow was not surprised to see him either. She had a hunch that this was Kovu's doing all along, since it certainly explained his odd behaviour earlier.

With a defeated sigh, she slowly sat up straight on her haunches and reluctantly gazed at the brown-maned Lion. "What do you want?"

Kovu breathed in a quick breath through his nose and drew it out heavily through his mouth. "Okay... I uh... I know you're still upset with me since the night I arrived here, and I just wanna make things right between us. That's why I'm apologizing to you, Kiara, and I beg for your forgiveness."

He paused as Kiara had forcefully shut her eyes and lowered her head, unsure how to react to his pleading. Seeing this, Kopa was certain she refused to listen to him, and so he tried again. "Kiara, please, how long are you gonna stay mad at me? You're my sister... and as siblings, we're supposed to stick together and forgive each other when one of us made a mistake. I acknowledge that I made the biggest blunder of my life when I raided the Lair that night... and I realized my mistakes and have changed my ways. Can you... give me a second chance?"

Though she hesitated at first, Kiara managed to force herself to look back at him, gazing intently into his eyes, as if she was reading him to see if his emotions were genuine or not. She then momentarily looked at the ground before looking back at him. "Kopa... I-"

"Please... just one more chance?" Kopa pleaded, trying his best to make sad puppy eyes to convince her.

Kiara swallowed hard, trying to think of the proper words that should come out from her mouth. "Kopa..." She began, as her brother looked more desperately at her. "Kopa, why don't we go outside... and take a walk."

The brown-maned Lion stood aghast, not at all expecting that sort of reply from his sister. "Um... I'm sorry, you want us to take a walk?"

"Yes. A walk," Kiara calmly repeated, getting up on her fours and slowly walking past him as she headed for the den's opening.

Though Kopa caught sight of her softened expressions when she walked by (which was obviously good news to him), he still wondered why she asked him to walk with her as a response to his pleading; though he knew he was in no position to be asking her.

He quickly headed for the exit and managed to catch up with her, following slightly behind as she led the way. Neither of them spoke throughout the way, though the path that Kiara took seemed oddly familiar to him. They had already left Pride Rock and were three-quarters through the surrounding grasslands and just reaching the Acacia grazing grounds when he spotted a familiar rock structure right in the middle of it all.

It was Kion's den where he and his family lived. Kopa was now even more curious as to why she had led them to their brother's place, though he still kept his mouth shut and never spoke a word.

Kiara stopped next to the opening and shouted towards it, "Kion? Are you in there?"

They stood aside for a few seconds until they heard their brother's familiar voice. "Yeah, I'm here," he responded before appearing through the entrance an instant later.

"Hey, sis. I was just on my way to-" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed Kopa standing timidly behind her and looked just as confused as he was. "Err... what's going on?"

Kiara chuckled and walked closer to her younger brother, "Nothing," she smiled. "It's just that I suddenly had the idea of spending the morning with you. But seeing that our dearest Kopa is tagging along as well, I thought it'd be a great idea to let him... 'hang around' with us," Kiara casually said, giving Kion a quick wink when mentioning about their brother, though the brown-maned Lion failed to notice this.

Kion immediately smiled and nodded as he understood her message and turned back around towards his den to inform his mate. "Fuli, I'll be away for a few hours, but I'll be back before lunchtime. Can you handle Mwamba by yourself while I'm gone?"

The Cheetah, who was resting inside their den with Mwamba sleeping against her side, cocked her head slightly to better scrutinize her visitors outside, but immediately smiled when she saw the three siblings together waiting for her go-ahead, seemingly as if she herself had completely understood of the situation that was going on, which only added to Kopa's bewilderment when he noticed this.

"Sure, Kion. You don't have to worry about us," Fuli responded, as sweetly as ever. "You three go ahead and enjoy yourselves."

Kion nodded and flashed his mate an appreciative smile. "Thanks, honey. I'll see you soon."

He then proceeded to place himself between his sister and elder brother. "Shall we?" He asked, looking around at both of them with a toothy smile before they all walked ahead.

Though he had no idea where they were taking him, Kopa felt slightly nervous when his two siblings began winking and exchanging stifled whispers to each other as they walked. "So guys... you uh... wanna enlighten me on where exactly you're bringing me?"

Both Kiara and Kion looked at him with smug and mischievous looks plastered on their muzzles before Kion decided to respond to his question, "You don't have to worry about anything, Kopa. For the next few hours... you'll be having the time of your life," He calmly replied, his response failed Kiara to stifle an escaped giggle.

Though the brown-maned Lion trusted his siblings, his gut had suddenly warned him that a certain impending doom awaits him. And that was what scared him; his gut-feelings so far had never been wrong. Despite this, he still replied, "I look forward to it!" with fake enthusiasm as his siblings exchanged one more mischievous looks with each other as they continued walking towards their destination.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: I wrote this update as a way to throw off some steam from the stress of preparing for my final exams this coming December, so I wasn't really at the top of my form by the time I finished writing this. I really apologize in advance if you find that there's a reduction in quality for this update, but I promise you that I'll be carrying out a major editing overhaul for this story after December 5th when I'm done with my finals. Until then, I hope you guys can still enjoy the story and please leave a kind review on your thoughts of this chapter. Of course, if you want to, you may leave suggestions on what amendments I could make to this chapter as well, as I openly welcome constructive criticisms. Thank you all for your kind support :)**

 **PS: Due to my upcoming exams, I won't be updating anything until after the 5th of December. Please pray for me, guys. I really need 'em :P**


	16. Interruptions

**Chapter 16: Interruptions**

"I don't like this, Lema. He's been gone for days and there's still no trace of him!" Kito the Klipspringer gruffed as he anxiously paced back and forth on the grass of their clearing within the Mukuni Woods while unfruitfully trying to maintain his usual stoic expression on his face.

Lema, his effeminate Leopard companion who was currently resting on a branch of a nearby tree, nodded in agreement. "I know... I'm actually, like, getting really worried right now. I mean, it's not like Kopa to simply disappear without telling us where he's going." The large feline then sat up as an unwanted thought suddenly invaded into his mind. "Kito... you don't think something's happened to our Kopa, do you?"

Kito halted in his tracks and for once, faced the Leopard with genuine concern. "I don't know... I really can't say. I just hope our search party finds something..."

The moment he said that, the sound of rustling of leaves from behind them caused them to anxiously turn around, thinking it was their missing Lion, only to disappointedly see that it was no-one else but a familiar trio of genets.

"Oh, Mkuumba..." Kito sighed dejectedly at the genet leading the other two, but quickly recomposed himself to show respect for his fellow animal. "Well... any luck?"

"Not much. We searched the entire Woods but didn't find a single trace of Kopa. Although... we did ask around with the other animals, and some of them said that they actually seen your boy several days back... but none of them have seen him recently. So... I don't know, he might be around here, or he might not. We can't really say for sure," the leader genet said, making sure he didn't sound too optimistic in his report.

Lema let out a disappointed sigh while Kito grunted grumpily when the genet finished.

"Well... I guess you've done all you could, Mkuumba," the Klipspringer muttered before giving an appreciative nod. "Thanks for your help."

"Sure... although I must say, we could have done more if Rudo helped with the search."

"Yeah, he could..." Kito trailed off, as he began looking upwards and scanning the surrounding trees as if he was looking for their avian acquaintance. "Where is that loud-beaked Raven anyways?"

"Hey, you know what? I don't know if any of you noticed, but we haven't exactly seen Rudo around here recently either," Lema commented as he hopped down from the branch he was resting on. "Do you think he disappeared together with Kopa?"

Kito frowned as he considered the suggested possibility. "They could have... But if they _had_ decided to run away together, then they could have _at least_ informed us about it so we won't tire ourselves from worrying and searching for them!" The short-tempered Klipspringer grumbled in annoyance.

"Well... sorry we couldn't help much," Mkuumba said as he turned around to lead his pack back home. "We'll let you know if we hear or find anything."

He only took a few steps away when one of his subordinates decided to speak up unexpectedly, "Uh... actually Mkuumba..." the smallest genet began in a squeaky, high-pitched voice. "I don't know if this helps, but I asked that old Civet who lived near the borders yesterday... well, he said that he might have seen a Lion walking across the border towards the Pridelands in the early hours of dawn a few days ago. But I'm not too sure if he was talking about Kopa or someone else-"

"Wait, WHAT?!" Kito blurted out, causing the young genet to suddenly tremble with fear.

"Are you sure he saw a Lion?" Lema asked in a gentler tone so as to not frighten the young genet. "But the only Lion around here is Kopa... and knowing Kopa, I don't he's crazy enough to go back to the Pridelands after what happened the other night."

"Well, uh... I can confirm that the old Civet specifically told me that he saw a Lion... but I'm just not sure if he did actually see a Lion on that particular morning. He is old, after all."

The Leopard shook his head and sighed. "Alright... well thanks anyways. Just let us know if you hear or find anything." The three genets nodded before scampering away.

"Do you really think it was Kopa who went into the-" Lema started to ask his companion but stopped when he realized that he was currently the only one left. "Eh... Kito? Kito?"

He looked around in confusion for a moment before his strong sense of smell picked up the Klipspringer's scent heading away from the clearing. "Oh no..." The Leopard groaned before immediately springing to his feet and taking off.

He rushed through the thick undergrowth of the Mukuni Woods heading towards the border, surprising several bystanding animals along the way. Just as he expected, he saw the tiny figure of a running Klipspringer in the distance the moment he passed through the last few trees of the Woods before arriving at the vast open land of the Pridelands-Backlands border.

"Kito! Where're you going?!" He shouted, but the Klipspringer in the distance didn't stop running. With an exasperated sigh, he launched himself forward and began chasing after his companion. The Klipspringer was already several yards ahead, but thanks to his feline agility, Lema was able to easily sprint across the open lands and managed to catch up with his target in less than thirty seconds. Kito was now only a couple of feet away from him, and like a predator about to attack his prey, Lema leapt into the air and pounced on the unsuspecting Klipspringer, causing the latter to come tumbling down to the dusty ground along with Lema as well.

"Ugh... Lema!" Kito gagged from all the settling dust around them. "You ain't stopping me!" He shouted almost maniacally, as he tried to kick the Leopard off of him.

"Kito! You're not thinking straight!" Lema yelled back, quickly weighing down his forepaws on the Klipspringer's body to prevent him from escaping. "You can't just saunter over into the Pridelands after what happened the other night! You're committing suicide!"

"I don't care! Our boy's over there and probably in danger! Get off me!" Kito screamed back, as he furiously continued to kick and wiggle the heavy feline away from him.

"We don't know if he's actually there! And even if he is, making a suicide charge towards the Pridelands isn't going to help him get out of there! Now calm down so we can sort this out together!"

Kito finally realized the sense behind his companion's words and immediately relaxed before Lema lifted his weight off of him and allowed him to get back on his fours. "Alright... so, what do you suggest we do now?"

"Oh... well um... I- I guess we could err..." Lema stuttered, as he wasn't used to playing the role of a decision-maker, that was more of Kito's forte. "Well... I guess the first thing we should do... is um... find a suitable place to discuss our next course of action! Yeah! Err... maybe we can... go back to our clearing... or maybe even-"

He stopped from blabbering further when he realized that Kito was now apparently squinting his eyes and scrutinizing his face. "What? Is there something on my muzzle?"

"No! Look, behind you!" He said, pointing his hoof at the direction behind them.

Kito turned around and immediately saw another animal running towards them in the distance. As it got closer and closer, both Backlanders realized that this other animal wasn't about to stop in its tracks anytime soon, so they immediately posed themselves in offensive stances when the animal finally got too close to them seconds later.

"Hold it right there!" Kito barked, causing the third animal to screech to a halt just a few feet away from them.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy! Easy! I'm a friendly!" the animal yelled defensively, just as the two Backlanders realized that he was actually a Caracal, a feline who was half the size of Lema the Leopard's body.

Just then, Kito spotted a familiar creature riding on the Caracal's back. "Rudo?! Is that you?"

The black-feathered Raven tried to carefully alight from the feline's back, but ended up crashing to the ground instead.

"Honey, what happened to you?" Lema softly asked as the avian groaned while trying to get back on his talons. "We've been looking for you for days! Where have you been?"

"Nevermind about me..." Rudo squawked in a rather weak voice as he hopped closer to the Leopard. "Listen... Kopa... Kopa's in danger... Right now, he's over at the Pridelands-"

"See, I TOLD YOU!" Kito hissed in triumph at Lema. "I told you he's there!"

"... He's in the Pridelands... but there's something else. That crazy Lioness knows he's there too! She's... she's probably on her way right now to kill him! And Kopa doesn't even know about it!"

"What Lioness are you talking about?" Lema asked, slightly confused by the Raven's statement, as was Kito too.

"Well, think!" Rudo blurted out impatiently despite his weak state. "How many crazy Lionesses do you know who has sworn revenge on Kopa and has openly stated that she will kill him when given the opportunity?!"

Kito and Rudo once again exchanged confused glances with one another before they finally realize who Rudo was talking about.

"Akina!"

 **XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Back in the Pridelands, Kopa remained mostly quiet as he trailed after Kion and Kiara. They've been walking for about a half hour now and the brown-maned Lion still had no idea where they were taking him. All he knew that Pride Rock had long vanished in the distance behind them and they seem to be heading towards the hilly and mountainous parts of the Pridelands.

Throughout their journey, Kion and Kiara walked side-by-side ahead of him while at the same time, talking and muttering to each other under their breaths. The occasional chuckles and glances they threw at him hinted that they were undoubtedly talking about him, probably making fun of him too. Still, he decided to keep mum on any complaints he had about it and kept following after his two siblings.

Before long, the trio arrived at the foot of a rather steep hill with the peak towering several feet above them. Without even stopping for a break after their half-hour journey, Kion and Kiara casually began scaling up the hill, expecting their elder brother to keep up with them. Kopa groaned internally as he forced himself to start his ascend up the hill. He was already almost out of breath by the time they got there, and now he had to use up whatever energy he had left just to avoid the embarrassment of being the slowest (and most lethargic) amongst them.

" _I knew I shouldn't have started eating zebra... should have just stuck with eating fish_ ," he quietly grumbled under his breath, referring to his change of diet after he settled down in the Pridelands.

He puffed and wheezed heavily throughout the climb, and at one point almost collapsed in his tracks when his legs began wobbling from exhaustion. He let out a heavy grunt with each step he took and he had to while his heart pounded heavily against his chest, rapidly pumping the much-needed oxygen throughout his weak body.

Kion and Kiara on the other hand continued casually leading the way up the hill as if it were a leisure stroll across the savanna, seemingly oblivious to the 'struggles' faced by their brother behind them. Seeing how they were chatting and even joking with each other as they were climbing made Kopa wonder what kind special genes they inherited from their parents that gave them athletic abilities... and why those genes had completely missed out on him and went straight to his siblings.

After what Kopa felt like eons of strenuous climbing (which was, in fact, only about fifteen minutes), they finally reached the mountain's pinnacle. They were instantly greeted by a cooling breeze of the wind that accompanied the spectacular view of the entire Pridelands below them.

"Here we are! Welcome to the top of Mount Upepo!" Kion proudly announced. He and Kiara turned to glance behind at their brother for the first time since they began their ascend, and were genuinely surprised when they saw Kopa slowly crawling his way up to the spot they were standing at.

"Wow... this... this is some mountain, eh?" He tried to chuckle despite his exhaustion, much to the amusement of Kion and Kiara, who were now struggling to hold back their laughter at the comical sight of the brown-maned Lion. "Whew! So what uh... what are we doing here, anyways?"

"Well... Kiara and I figured that since you didn't get the chance to grow up with us as normal siblings should..." Kion began as he began walking towards a single withered willow tree that stood bare right next to where they were standing. "We'd thought you could join us for a game that Kiara and I used to play when we were cubs... you know, bring you... ' _up to speed_ '... of what it feels like growing up around us."

Kiara let out a chuckle when Kion mentioned the idiom, making Kopa even nervous of what was about to happen next. "Uh... sure, that sounds fun!" He responded with unconvincing, spurious enthusiasm in an attempt to mask his nervousness from them. "What kind of game are we playing?"

"Heh. You'll see..." Kiara smirked as she followed after Kion to the willow tree.

The willow tree had long withered years ago, and the remnants of its decaying trunk and branches stood there alone at the mountain's peak ever since. Large, flat chunks of wood had fallen off from its crumbling bark and scattered its surrounding area, one of which Kion proceeded to pick up with his jaws before carrying it over to the very edge of the pinnacle. There, he carefully placed it down so that it was now teetering right over the ledge.

"Well, Kopa?" Kion beckoned to his brother while nudging his head towards the flat piece of wood.

Kopa kept on shifting his gaze between Kion and the teetering chunk of wood in almost disbelief. "Whoah, whoah! You want me to place my overweight self on that small piece of-"

"Yup! That's exactly what we want you to do," Kiara smirked teasingly at him. "Unless, of course, you're too scared... then we'll just have to-"

"No, no, no, that's okay! I'm up for it!" Kopa almost blurted, not wanting to chicken out on his younger siblings and bruise his pride and ego.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he slowly made his way to the ledge where the wood was. He carefully placed one forepaw on it followed by the other. The wood creaked a little as he did so, further heightening the tension and Kopa's anxiety. Still, he managed to suck it up and found the courage to put both his hind legs onto the wood. For a moment, the brown-maned Lion thought that him being on that small flat piece of wood wasn't such a bad thing after all, but that rapidly changed when he caught a glimpse of the sheer descend that was right below him, making him nauseous. His hind legs suddenly felt weak, forcing him to sit on his haunches on the piece of wood.

"Hey uh... guys? I- I think maybe we could do s-something el-" He began in a trembling voice, but was cut mid-sentence when he glanced back and saw that both Kion and Kiara had extended their forepaws just inches away from his back that was accompanied by evil smirks plastered on their muzzles. "Oh, _S_ weet _H_ oney _I_ cy _T_ undra..."

"Away you go!" Kiara gleefully yelled as she and Kion gave their brother a huge shove, sending him and the piece of wood careening down the hill.

"AHHHHHHH!"

Kopa's shrieks of horror echoed as he glided steeply down the hill on the piece of wood that now acted as a makeshift sled. Kopa felt his face being distorted as strong winds blasted straight into his face while everything else in the surroundings became nothing but a blur to him as he zoomed down the hill. Unlike the grassy path they earlier used to climb up the hill, this part of the hill was made up of rocks and crumbling dirt, so every bump picked up by the 'sled' could be felt by the terrified Lion.

"SERENITY NOW! SERENITY NOW!" he wailed, forcing his eyes shut and praying this nightmare of a 'ride' would soon be over. After almost a full minute of hurling down the hill, Kopa saw that his wish was about to come true as he was fast approaching the base. Seconds later, the 'sled' violently hit the last rocky bumps of the hill, causing Kopa to be thrusted off from the piece of wood before it crashed into pieces while the massive momentum sent him flying several feet into the air.

"OHHHHHHH SHIII- OOOMPH!" Kopa groaned as he hit the ground. Surprisingly, his rough landing wasn't as bad as he thought it would, mainly because he landed right in the middle of a meadow with soft grass and blossoming flowers.

"Oh... definitely not doing that again," the brown-maned Lion grumbled as he picked himself up and dusting off some pollen that got stuck in his fur. He suddenly heard the sounds of shrieking and laughing behind him and quickly turned around, only to see that Kion and Kiara had followed suit and were now zooming down the hill on their own makeshift 'sleds'.

"WHOO-HOOO!"

"Yeeee-Haaaaa!"

Kopa sat on his haunches as observed them from the spot where he crash-landed, wondering how in the Pridelands were they able to be thrilled by careening down the hill on those flimsy pieces of wood. He watched as his two siblings were fast approaching the base of the hill. Unfortunately for Kopa, both Kion and Kiara hit the last few of bumps of the hill in the same manner as he did earlier, and now the impact sent the two laughing Lions flying into the air... and hurling straight towards him.

"Ohhh shoot!" he exclaimed, only managing to cower himself lower to the ground and covering his head with his forepaws to shield himself and bracing for the impact. Miliseconds later, he heard and felt two loud thuds! on each of his side. He carefully peeked over and was surprised to see that Kion and Kiara had each landed beside him and very narrowly avoided landing and squashing on him by inches. He let out a grateful breath for the near-miss and sat back on his haunches, but unfortunately, Kion's makeshift sled (which coincidentally didn't disintergrate upon impact on the last few bumps) had flown into the air before choosing to land on Kopa squarely on his head with a loud 'thwack!'.

"Youch! Hey, watch it!" He yelled out to no-one in particular, wincing in pain as he rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head with a paw. He looked down next to him and it was quite apparent that his siblings didn't even realize that he had been injured, as they were both still laid on their backs against the soft grass and laughing uncontrollably.

"Wow... that... that was fun, wasn't it?" Kiara exclaimed in between her laughs.

"Oh yeah, very fun..." Kopa replied half-heartedly in a sour tone as he quietly tried to sneak away from them while they were still preoccupied in their jovial moods in order to avoid having to partake in other 'fun' activities that they had in mind.

"Hey, maybe we should go up there again!" Kion suddenly suggested, getting up onto his side but was immediately surprised when he caught his brother slowly walking away from them.

"Oh! Uh... actually, you see... I was thinking..." Kopa nervously began while frantically brainstorming for an excuse to get himself away from those two. Luckily for him, he didn't have to do much thinking about it, as a familiar squawking sound interrupted him from above before he could utter another word.

"Kion! Oh, there you are!"

Kion looked up just as Zazu the hornbill swooped down and landed right next to him. "Pardon for the interruption, Kion, but I'm afraid I have to announce that King Simba and Queen Nala have just returned from their meeting with the Elephants, and they would like to discuss a few important matters with you back at Pride Rock."

"Oh, well alright, Zazu," Kion nodded to the hornbill before turning back to his siblings. "I guess that just leaves you two, then," he said, but not before moving closer to Kiara and whispering into her ear, "Try to bring him back home in one piece, alright?"

Kiara snickered under her breath at this as Kion turned around with a chuckle and started heading towards Pride Rock with Zazu accompanying him in the air.

"So!" Kiara began so suddenly that Kopa jolted in startlement. "Are we going to start climbing again or what?"

Kopa nervously swallowed the lump in his throat and tried racking his brains again for an excuse, but he finally realize that his only way out of this was to just be frank with his sister. "Err... you know what, Kiara... I think I rather much prefer taking a walk across this meadow here. You know... ease up our minds..."

Kiara could sense the disparity within his voice and really wanted to torment him to her pleasure by dragging him herself up the hill, but eventually decided to take pity on him. "Alright, I guess we can do that." She agreed with a subtle smirk on her lips, much to Kopa's tremendous relief.

They turned and started walking in the opposite direction away from Upepo Hill and across the grassy meadow. Both of them didn't speak at first, which was all the better for Kopa as he preferred the comfortable silence that surrounded them, but Kiara interrupted that a few minutes into their morning stroll.

"I uh... I guess I owe an apology, Kopa..." she began, causing Kopa to look at her with surprise.

"For what?" He responded, looking at her with a raised brow.

"For ignoring and mistreating you the past few days," Kiara continued in a regretful tone and momentarily looking away from him.

"Oh, that's okay, there's nothing to be sorry about. I've already forgotten about it," He assured her with a smile, giving some form of relief to Kiara as she gave him a grateful nod in return. "I just kinda wish that the other Lionesses would think the same way as you do..." he sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to them and try to change their opinions of you," she offered. "They're... they're usually not as begrudging as they are against you right now. I'm sure they'll warm up to you soon."

"I hope so..." Kopa muttered under his breath. They carried on walking across the meadow until Kopa noticed a bare patch of land ahead of them several yards away beyond the grasslands that looked somewhat familiar to him. "Hey, what's that piece of land over there?" he asked, stopping in his tracks.

Kiara squinted her eyes and saw what he was asking about. "Oh, that's the Backlands-Pridelands border."

"Oh... the Backlands..." Kopa muttered, suddenly overwhelmed with regret as he remembered that he had been living in the Pridelands for a few days now without even informing his friends and neighbours in the Backlands about it. Just the thought of it made him feel terrible, and so he turned around with his back facing the border in the distance and sat on his haunches, giving out a long, regretful sigh.

Kiara wondered what was up with him at first, but instantly deduced that it probably had something to do with her mentioning the name of the place he had been living all these years before coming to the Pridelands... which instantly brought up a question in her mind that she needed to ask him,

"Kopa, may I ask... how exactly did you live and survive being alone in the Backlands all those years?" She inquired cautiously while hoping that she didn't make him feel uncomfortable with her question.

"Well... actually I wasn't really alone there," Kopa explained solemnly. "When I first stumbled into the Mukuni Woods when I was a cub, these two guys; a Klipspringer and a Leopard found me and they took care of me from then on. So I wasn't exactly alone most of the time."

He looked up at Kiara to see her staring dumbfounded at him. "Hold on... you mean to say you were raised by a Leopard and Klipspringer?" She asked for clarification, to which he nodded. "Wow... I thought a prey-predator relationship is supposed to exist between a Klipspringer and a Leopard."

Kopa couldn't help but let out a chuckle at her comment. "Oh, they were in a relationship alright... just not a prey-predator one," he laughed. "But they were really nice guys, and I really appreciate everything they've done for me."

" _Oh yeah? Then why did you abandon us_?"

Kopa and Kopa gasped when they heard a third voice from behind them. They turned around and were completely stunned when they saw a Klipspringer and Leopard leading a whole army of Backlands animals; Servals, Monkeys, Genets, Civets and a Raven (who was currently perched on the leading Klipspringer's antlers) towards them.

"Kopa! Oh honey, thank goodness you're alright!" Lema the Leopard yelled once they got close to the siblings. Kiara was even more frozen with awe by the fact that the Leopard somehow knew her brother's name. That was when she put two and two together and realize that the Klipspringer and Leopard were the same ones whom Kopa was talking about seconds earlier.

"Kito?! Lema?! What are you guys doing here?!" Kopa blurted out, as he didn't expect they would brazenly enter the Pridelands again after the incident that took place several nights ago.

Kito scoffed and appeared offended by his remark. "Are you serious Kopa? We're risking our lives to protect you and this is how you acknowledge us?"

"Huh? Protect me from who?" The brown-maned Lion asked with utter confusion.

"FROM HER!" He heard Rudo suddenly yell out while frantically waving his wings about before pointing them towards a particular direction.

Kopa initially thought the avian was talking about Kiara, but as he followed the direction that the Raven was pointing, he saw that right behind him, an entire group of menacing-looking Lionesses were slowly advancing towards them. Kopa's face fell and his heart immediately started racing when he recognized a particular tan-furred Lioness who was apparently leading the group.

"Uh... Kopa, who is that?" Kiara asked as she nervously retreated behind her equally frightened brother.

"That's um... that's Akina." He gulped as the group of fear-mongering Lionesses halted in their tracks just a few feet away from them. "And she's uh... my deranged ex-wife who wants to kill me..."

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Really sorry for the extremely late update, and especially sorry if the first half of the story felt boring. I don't really want to say much here, but I just need to let you all know that due to my hectic college schedule, I'm afraid I can only update this story at most only once a month. I haven't proof-read this particular chapter yet, so apologies in advance for any blaring mistakes. Will try to fix it by the weekend. Do read, enjoy and review.**

 **yingyangmaster**


	17. Three-Cornered Battle

**Chapter 17: Three-Cornered Battle**

Kopa's racing heart pounded wildly against his chest as he and Kiara were caught right in the middle of the stand-off. Just in front, Akina and her Lionesses have begun to spread out while slowly advancing towards them with bared fangs and unsheathed claws while, at the same time, the Backlands' army of animals cautiously approached the siblings from behind with Kito and Lema in the lead. Both opposing sides halted in their tracks once they were all within pouncing range of each other, further trapping Kopa and Kiara right in the middle of a potential cross-fire.

"Kopa, what have you gotten us into..." Kiara hissed angrily at her brother as she posed herself in a defensive stance, baring her fangs towards Akina's clan. Kopa wished dearly that he could specifically explain to her everything that had happened that led to his former mate wanting to murder him, but now wasn't exactly the right time to do so.

"Well, Kopa... I'm certainly glad that I was able to... catch up with you," Akina said with an evil grin, though her voice was coarsed with fury and pure hatred.

The brown-maned Lion let out a nervous laugh in a failed attempt to remain and appear calm at his ex-wife. "Aha... err... hi, there... um... Akina. I uh... wasn't expecting to see you here..."

"I can say the same about you," Akina replied. "You were always telling me how you loathed the Pridelands and how you were always saying that you'd kill yourself if you ever stepped into this wretched place again. Well... I might as well help you stick true to your words then..."

Kopa winced slightly when he saw the devious smirk on her muzzle grew wider. "Akina... please, I know I made many mistakes with you when we were together... and for that I'm truly sorry-"

"Your 'sorry' isn't going to bring my brother back!" Akina snapped and cut him mid-sentence with a threatening growl. "I lost everything because of you! I lost my son and I lost my brother! And they were both _your_ doings!"

Kiara glanced at Kopa in confusion. "You killed her brother?"

"No, no, no! I didn't kill anyone! You have to believe me!" Kopa defensively tried to explain to her.

"Then where is my brother, Kopa? And where is my son?!" Akina yelled out with a snarl and looked like she was about to pounce on him at any second.

Kopa sighed in defeat as he looked at everyone around him. They were all there, all on the verge of a potentially bloody battle, thanks to his stupid and selfish mistakes he made in the past. And the worst part was that Kiara, who had nothing to do with any of it at all, would be caught in the cross-fire. Kopa knew he had to do something to protect his sister.

"Look, Akina..." He began, while appearing to slowly approach her. "I can give you all the answers to your questions... and I'm willing to sacrifice myself to you. But you have to promise me to let my sister and my friends go. They have nothing to do with this..."

Everyone else, particularly Kiara and the Backlands' animals were stunned by what they heard.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Kid, did you listen to what you just said?! What do you think you're doing?!" Kito blurted out instantly in disbelief.

"Kito, I have no choice! This is the only way I'm able to fix all the problems I've caused!" Kopa cried out in exasperation, wishing that his old friends would just leave and let him handle the situation.

"No, nuh-uh! Out of the question! If that crazy wacko of your ex-wife wants to get to you, she's gonna have to get through us first!"

The smirk on Akina's lips grew wider as she naturally accepted the pathetic little Klipspringer's hasty challenge. "With pleasure..." She growled, unsheathing her claws and crouching low to the ground as she and her Lionesses prepared to launch their assault just as the Backlanders immediately began to pose themselves in defensive stances, ready to fight back with the Desert Lionesses.

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE, ALL OF YOU!"

The leader of the Desert Pride rolled her eyes and growled in exasperation when they all heard a gruff, firm voice that delayed their brawl accompanied by the sound of thundering footsteps dashing towards them from the West. Only Kopa and Kiara were relieved when they heard the familiar voice as everyone turned and saw over twenty Pridelander Lionesses closing in on them with Vitani and Kovu leading their way.

"Oh great! That's just what I need; more losers to deal with!" Akina snarled just as the Pridelanders arrived right next to Kopa and Kiara seconds later.

Kiara immediately went over to her mate and nuzzled him, grateful that he intervened at the right moment. Kovu gently returned her embrace, relieved that nothing had happened to her. He then looked up and shifted his gaze between the Desert Lionesses and the Backlanders.

"Alright! I don't know who you all are, but you've trespassed into the Pridelands. On behalf of the rulers of the Pridelands, I order that all of you stand down and leave immediately!" He barked his order in a firm tone, but it immediately proved to be fruitless.

"No, we're not leaving until I sink my teeth into that useless joke of my ex-husband and shred him to pieces!" Akina growled and gave Kopa a death glare, causing the brown-maned Lion to nervously cower to the ground.

Lema the Leopard took a few steps forward and snarled threateningly back at Akina. "And we're not leaving here until we make sure that Lioness leaves Kopa alone and until it's safe for Kopa to return to the Backlands with us!" He yelled out indignantly back at the Desert Lionesses.

As the Leopard growled his warning, Vitani and Kovu appeared to be confused by his words. "You do know that Kopa lives in the Pridelands now, right?" Kovu asked him with a raised brow.

"WHAT?!"

Kopa let out a long groan and sunk lower to the ground when he heard all the Backlands' animals gasp in disbelief by what Kovu had just revealed to them.

"Kid! Is it true? You're actually ditching us?! After everything we've done for you? After all those times you've sworn to never come back to this wretched wastelands?!" Kito furiously barked at the brown-maned Lion, gritting his teeth and wanting to fling at Kopa himself but he was immediately held back by Lema, who was just as disappointed as Kito and the rest of Backlanders.

Kopa sighed with guilt and avoided from lifting his gaze towards his friends. Even without looking, he could feel their disappointment and anger as they all glared at him, demanding for an explanation. He knew he had to do something. But with Akina and her Lionesses ready to pounce on him at any second, his Backlander friends now feeling betrayed and furious at him and could possibly turn against him at any moment, and the fact that the Lionesses of Pride Rock were now caught in the middle of this conflict... it was just too big of a mess for him to clear up. But still... he had to do something, as he realized that all eyes were now focused on him.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he slowly faced Kito and Lema and tried to reason with them, "Okay... I will gladly explain to you everything you want to know about why I've decided to move in to the Pridelands, but let me resolve this whole situation first so I can tell you everything in detail without the fear of being skinned alive by my ex-wife," he explained while trying to maintain a certain degree of calmness as he spoke.

Ignoring their confused glances and not waiting for any one of them to reprimand him, Kopa then turned behind and faced his ex-mate and her Lionesses. "Akina... can we just do this some other time? I mean... you want to kill me, but these guys behind me and those Pridelander Lionesses to my left would um... do everything in their power to make sure you won't be able to do that. And uh... as you can see, I have a bit of explaining to do to my friends here at the same time, so... uh... can we all just meet somewhere at another time and agree to a parley?"

Akina could only glare blankly at him as a response as she wondered if this Lion in front of her was actually being serious. "Look, Tail-For-Brains! I've had enough of all this unnecessary drama delaying me any further!" She suddenly snapped with a fiery gleam in her eyes, taking Kopa completely by surprising.

"This is for you, Big Brother!" The Desert Lioness yelled out her war cry before crouching low and immediately propelling herself straight towards Kopa.

The brown-maned Lion stood frozen in his spot as he could only watch her unsheathed razor-sharp claws in the air coming straight towards him by the millisecond.

"Kopa, watch out!"

If ever there was a moment that all the Kings of the Past had decided to grant a divine intervention to protect the son of one of their own, this was apparently that very moment, as just before Akina could get an inch closer to Kopa and brutally mutilate her target, Vitani had already sprang onto her hind legs and thrusted herself into the air before colliding head-on with the Desert Lioness milliseconds later, sending them crashing towards the ground and tumbling in the opposite direction away from Kopa.

In the wake of risking her own life to save her friend, Vitani's heroic action had conversely initiated the start of a bloody three-cornered fight.

"GET THEM!" Akina's second-in-command furiously yelled out to her fellow Lionesses.

"GO! GO! GO! GO!" Kito and Lema commended to their fellow animals, as the Backlanders, Pridelanders and Desert Pride Lionesses all charged valiantly towards each other at the same time.

The initially peaceful setting of the grasslands was now marred by the screeching yells of war cries and the sight of Lionesses battling with Lionesses and various other Backlander animals. Vitani, despite being slightly dazed by the violent impact seconds earlier, was still able to pull herself up and reluctantly joined in with the battle, letting out a blood-curdling growl as she furiously swiped her unsheathed claws at a Desert Lioness, who was just about to pounce on her while she was momentarily subdued. After sending her opponent crashing to the ground with a sickening groan, Vitani ploughed her way through with every intention to violently end the downed Lioness's life, but suddenly caught sight of her Pridesister helplessly being overrun by an entire pack of Backlander servals at the very last second, forcing her to abandon her deadly desire and quickly rush over to her Pridesister's aid instead.

Kopa, on the other hand, was still right in the middle of the battlefield, having to dodge left and right to avoid being pounced on or paw-swiped. He could have easily fought off anyone who was unlucky enough to cross his path, but he refused to go on the offensive as he was afraid he would mistakenly attack his own allies in the midst of all the chaos. All the animals around him were clawing and fighting off each other, and at one glance, it almost looked like it was a free-for-all. Just then, he spotted several Backlander genets being attacked by two Pride Rock Lionesses not from where he was, but his heart and mind immediately went into conflict; he genuinely wanted to rush over and assist his Backlander friends, but attacking his own Pridesisters would only spell his own death warrant and would be a damning excuse for his family disown and exile him... or even sentence him to death.

Before he could even make up his mind on a decision, his peripheral vision suddenly picked up the slender figure of Lema several feet away on his left, stealthily creeping up on a particular Lioness who was preoccupied in furiously fending off an entire troop of Backlander baboons. Kopa's eyes widened when he realized that that particular Lioness was actually Vitani.

"Oh, shoot!"

Not wasting another millisecond, the brown-maned Lion sprang onto his fours and dashed towards them, where Lema was already within pouncing range of Vitani.

"Lema, DON'T HURT HER!"

Both Vitani and (especially) Lema both gasped at the same time when they turned and saw Kopa charging straight towards them before lunging himself straight at Lema, completely catching the Leopard off guard and causing both of them to tumble to the ground and away from Vitani.

Lema, who was sent crashing to the ground for the second time that day, groaned in pain as he tried to pick himself off from the ground. His eyes widened in disbelief when the dust settled and he saw his attacker spluttering out the dirt from his mouth and picking himself up right in front of him.

"What the... KOPA! What did you think you're doing?! I thought you're on our side?!" Lema growled with rage, baring his fangs angrily at the Lion.

Kopa flinched and took a step back, as he had never seen the usually 'soft' Leopard seem so angry before. "I am! I am on your side, Lema! It's just that she's my friend! And I didn't want you to- WHOA, LOOK OUT! "

Kopa's sharp eye managed to pick up the figure of a Desert Lioness right behind Lema, her bared fangs and claws unsheathed were signs that she had every intention to ambush the both of them. Thanks to Kopa's warning, Lema swiftly turned around with a growl before lunging himself to the Lioness and wrestling her to the ground.

With Lema now preoccupied with the Lioness, Kopa turned around to check on Vitani, only to see that she had resumed to fend off the Backlander baboons some distance ahead of him.

He was about to start walking ahead towards them in hopes of breaking off their fight when he suddenly felt the burning sensation of a strong set of claws ripping through his flesh and mane on the back of his head.

"ARGH!" He growled in agony before collapsing to the ground and quickly using a forepaw to apply pressure at the spot where he was struck.

As he felt his paw become wet from his own blood, a shadow suddenly loomed overhead. From the ground, his eyes slowly traced upwards to the familiar figure of a particular Desert Lioness, who towered above him with a hideous smirk spread across her jaws.

"Akina..." Kopa could only whisper her name as he felt that he was slowly losing consciousness. He could only watch as Akina raised her paw over her head with the bloodied claws that she had used to strike him with unsheathed. He closed his eyes and waited for the powerful blow that will ultimately end his life.

But that blow never came. Instead, he felt and heard something even more powerful; a thundering explosion so powerful that he could even feel the ground tremble beneath him. He reopened his eyes and saw that Akina, along with all the other animals around them, were now desperately crouching down low and hugging the ground as massive winds thundered directly above their heads. That was when Kopa realized that what had occurred wasn't an explosion; it was the Roar of the Elders.

About half a minute after it began, the Roar of the Elders eventually came to a cessation and the whole grasslands suddenly turned quiet. Kopa carefully lifted his head off the ground, followed by the rest of his body. He then looked all around him.

Everyone else was still crouching down to the ground, still fearful to even lift their heads an inch as they had never experienced something so powerful before. That was when he noticed several newcomers had arrived at the forefront of the grasslands, all of them bearing the same bemused look as they glared at all the crouching animals that were involved in the three-cornered battle. The King and Queen of the Pridelands had arrived at the scene alongside Kion, who stood stolidly in front of them and was accompanied by the rest of the Lion Guard, including a pregnant Fuli.

Kopa stared in awe as he eyed the majestic leader of the Lion Guard. Kion had told him about his special possession of the Roar of the Elders, but this was the first time he had actually seen him use it in action. The Pridelander Lionesses seemed to have realized that they were in the presence of their King and Queen, as one-by-one, they quietly got up and meekly went over towards their side, including Vitani, Kiara and Kovu. Kopa was the only Pridelander to remain amongst the trespassers, as he was honestly afraid of having to face and explain to his parents about everything that transpired.

King Simba eyed the Backlanders and the Desert Lionesses, silently contemplating with himself on what he was to do with these animals before he finally spoke in a stern manner, "Based on what I'm seeing, I've deduced that there are two parties involved in the unnecessary skirmish we've all witnessed earlier, not including my Lionesses, daughter and son-in-law," He said, getting straight to the point. "I would like to have a word with the leaders of these two parties."

He then shifted his gaze towards a Backlander Serval whom happened to be standing nearby. "We'll start with you. Who's your leader?"

The Serval was silent at first, but after noticing the impatient gleam in the majestic Lion's eyes, he nudged his head towards Kito and Lema, who were not far off from him. The Leopard and Klipspringer perked up their ears when the Lion King trained his sights towards them. In all the seriousness of the situation, they decided it was better to comply with the King's orders, for fear that angering him would result in the 'Roar' being targeted directly towards them. Even the short-tempered Kito had enough sense not to show any signs of defiance as he and Lema quietly walked past their fellow animals before stopping right in front of him.

Simba was just about to focus his gaze towards some of the Desert Lioness when Akina voluntarily stepped out from amongst her pridesisters and began walking towards him. She didn't want the King to talk down to any of her pridesisters as if they were children being reprimanded by an adult. With a sour frown on her muzzle, she sat herself right in front of Simba while making sure to leave put an ample distance between herself and Kito and Lema.

"Alright. What are your names?" Simba asked, in a more lenient tone as he didn't want to make the situation any more tensed than it already was.

Before any of them could answer him, Kopa suddenly appeared behind Kito and Lema, with a fake smile that he flashed towards his father in an attempt to mask his blatant nervousness as he tried to diffuse the whole conflict altogether.

"Hey... Dad! I uh... didn't expect you and Mum to be back so soon from the meeting with the Elephants!" He began with a nervous laugh, causing Simba and even the other three leaders to look at him with raised brows. He suddenly felt uncomfortable with all the glares he was receiving and decided to continue, "Anyways... I uh, I want you to meet my pals, Kito and Lema..." He said, stretching a paw around them as if to prove that they were indeed his friends (which, in the process, caused both Kito and Lema to roll their eyes in annoyance), before glancing towards his frowning ex-wife on his left and continuing in a smaller voice, "And uh... that's Akina, who's my former mate... and err... who also wants to kill me."

Simba gazed her, "Did you really intend on murdering my son?" He asked in a questioning tone.

"You bet your tail tuft I did! It's payback for what he did to my brother!" Akina snapped before baring her fangs at Kopa, causing him to flinch uncomfortably.

This was news to Simba, and he shifted his gaze to his son to demand for an explanation.

"Dad, I didn't kill her brother, okay..." Kopa meekly began. "... at least, I don't think I did..."

Simba let out a disappointed sigh, not at all pleased by Kopa's answer. He was about to make a reprimanding to him when Kito suddenly spoke,

"Well, we don't care if he killed her brother or not, we're here to make sure that deranged Lioness over there doesn't get anywhere within an inch of our boy!" He barked while glaring at the scowling Lioness on his left. He then glared at Simba, ignoring the warning nudge he received from Lema who was silently praying that his companion wouldn't say or do anything brash.

"As for you, Kopa may be your son, but we took care of him since the day we found him as a cub! So we ain't leaving unless Kopa goes back to the Backlands with us!"

Simba looked at the Klipspringer thoughtfully before momentarily glancing at his son. "Well... it seems that there's a lot of conflicts of interest going on here," he commented before shifting his gaze at Akina. "You want to murder my son, but those two over there are making sure that doesn't happen, and apparently, they're also making sure that my son goes back to Backlands with them. I myself wouldn't allow anyone to bring harm to my boy, but I wouldn't want him to leave the Pridelands and live with two animals I don't even know."

He then shut his eyes and drew out a long, exasperated sigh. This was the biggest mess ever in the aging King's life that he was forced to clean up. He then reopened his eyelids and slowly negotiated with the four animals in front of him,

"Look... I'm already old, and I have been through a lot of battles in my life. The last thing I want, is for another war to break out in my kingdom. The Pridelands have witnessed plenty of those in the past, and I'm making sure that these beautiful lands do not suffer from such incidents again. So... seeing that we all have conflicting agendas, I strongly suggest that we all return to our respective homes for today, and then come back first thing tomorrow morning at the Pridelands-Backlands border so we can discuss and negotiate our differences... on neutral grounds. Do we have an agreement?"

Kito and Lema glanced at each other while the sour frown on Akina's muzzle became even more disgruntled.

"Wait a minute, what about Kopa?" Lema suddenly asked. "Since this whole problem revolves around him, what's going to happen to him until tomorrow morning?"

"For now, he will stay with me and the rest of my Pride," Simba calmly answered him. "As his father, it's my duty to advise him on how he should handle this whole situation and what he should expect to happen tomorrow morning."

Kito and Lema appeared to be even more dissatisfied by his answer, but before either of them could object, Akina suddenly spoke, "Well, Your Highness... if a parley is what you're asking for, then a parley is what you'll get," She said, suddenly appearing to be uncharacteristically calm and even bearing a small smile on her lips (though for Kopa, this appeared to be more of a taunting smirk). "My sisters and I will leave your beloved Pridelands for today. But rest assured, we'll be at the borders before the first crack of dawn."

Kito and Lema stared at her with furrowed brows as she turned around and started heading back towards the rest of her Pridesisters. Along the way, she managed to flash a smug grin at Kopa, causing the brown-maned Lion to shift uneasily. Kopa knew for a fact that his former mate wasn't the sort to give in into other animals' demand, and seeing the taunting grin that she flashed at him further convinced him that she was definitely scheming on using their meeting tomorrow to give her an advantage. He let out a long, tired groan at this thought.

"Come on, ladies. Let's go,"

Kopa heard her command to her Pridesisters, and the other animals watched as the Desert Lionesses obeyed their leader and started to follow her as she lead them towards the direction of the Backlands.

"And how about you two?" Simba's voice suddenly broke the silence as he glared at the remaining Leopard and Klipspringer.

Kito was still unhappy about Simba's proposed arrangements, but after noticing that Kion, the Lion that he recognized as the one who had unleashed the powerful 'Roar' earlier, standing right next to the King with a grim expression on his face, he realized he had no choice but to comply.

"Alright... we'll go," He finally said. "But we're expecting you to keep your end of the bargain. Otherwise... it's all-out war."

With that the duo turned around and motioned for the rest of the Backlanders to leave. Most of them managed to give Kopa one last glance before they all began making their way back to the Mukuni woods. Kopa watched guiltily as his Backlander friends made their way across the grasslands before slowly facing his father, "Dad... thanks for showing up when I needed you the most."

Simba took in a deep breath before slowly exhaling it through his mouth. "Don't thank me just yet, Kopa. You still have a lot of explaining to do when we get back home." He replied in a tired voice before turning around and walking back towards Pride Rock. "Let's go."

Nala and the Lionesses quietly trailed behind him, followed by Vitani and Kovu. Kopa sighed and followed suit, just as Kiara decided to walk beside him. "Hey... you'll be okay." She said, giving him a brief comforting nuzzle in an attempt to lift his spirits. Kopa could only give her a single nod as a reply, as the only thing he could think off was how he was supposed to explain everything to his father. Eversince he made the Pridelands his home, he had vowed to himself that he will never do anything to disappoint his parents, but judging by the chagrined look on Simba's face when he last spoke to him, it was apparent that he broke his vow after only several days of making it. Kopa sighed, wishing that this entire nightmare would be over soon.

The Lion Guard accompanied the Pridelanders on their way back to Pride Rock, but with the exception of two of its members. Kion had started to follow after the group when Simba had motioned for them to make a move, but he realized that Fuli somehow wasn't with them. He quickly doubled back and found her sitting on her haunches at the same spot where she had been since they first arrived at the grasslands.

"Hey, you okay?" Kion asked as he approached her.

Fuli briefly looked up to her mate before lowering her gaze as if she was observing something on the ground. "There's something familiar about that Lioness who was standing here just now... the one that was trying to kill your brother."

Kion paused and looked at her in astonishment. "You mean Akina? What's so familiar about her? None of us has ever seen her before except Kopa..."

"I know, but... her scent smells familiar to me... I think I've picked up her scent some time ago... I- I just can't remember when and where..." She said, while sniffling around the area where Akina had earlier stood when she was confronted by Simba.

Kion furrowed his brows in confusion and decided to take a whiff of the accent as well, but nothing about it seemed at all familiar to him. Anyways, it didn't seem to be important at the moment. He concluded that Fuli was probably imagining it. After all, being pregnant meant that she was consistently under stress which, in turn, would also probably mean that plenty of things would suddenly seem 'familiar' to her... or so he reasoned to himself.

"Hey uh... the others have already left. Shall we go now?" Kion asked, turning around and hoping his mate would join him.

Fuli looked at the ground and took in the faint scent lingering in the air before finally agreeing to leave with her mate. "Alright, let's go."

Smiling with relief, Kion waited for her to join by his side before they walked off to head back to Pride Rock. There was not a space of boundary between them as they walked, and that was just how Kion had preferred it. It was just him and his beautiful Cheetah mate, and the comfortable silence that surrounded them. Although that silence was soon broken by Fuli herself,

"Kion... I hope you don't mind, but I think I have to spend a few minutes with Kopa when we get back, there's plenty of questions that I'd like to ask him," She said.

"And are they all about that Lioness' scent?" Kion asked with a sigh eventhough he already knew the answer.

"Most of them..." She grinned at him. "And I have a feeling that it might help explain why she's so hellbent on wanting to murder your brother."

Kion raised a brow at her. "Really? How so?"

"I don't know... I just have a feeling that it might..."

He sighed and continued to face forward as they walked. It was the both of them alone right now, and the last thing Kion wanted to hear was anything related to Kopa or any of his brother's problems.

"Hey uh... how are you feeling underneath there?" He casually asked with a smirk while briefly ghosting a paw on the side of her slightly oversized belly. "Does it feel like a boy or a girl?"

Fuli let out a hearty laugh at this before leaning her head against his luscious mane. "I don't know yet... but with all the movement I've felt today, I think we're expecting at least two boys and possibly a girl."

Kion looked at her with half-excitement and half-disbelief. "Are you serious? We're actually expecting more than just one cub?"

"It certainly feels like it," Fuli grinned cheekily at him.

Kion could only sigh with joy at such sensational news that he had never expected to happen. At least things were going well with his marriage with Fuli, that was one thing he was eternally grateful for. With Fuli's head still tilted against his mane, they carried on side-by-side with their journey back to Pride Rock, surrounded by the comfortable silence that once again graced upon them as the warm evening sun slowly sank into the horizon behind them, its brilliant rays illuminating the clouds into hues of yellow, orange and red.

 **To be continued...**

 **A/n: Slightly longer chapter. Please read and review.**


	18. Schemes and Plans

**Chapter 18: Schemes and Plans**

As nightfall arrived, the cool and serene atmosphere across the barren desert in the heart of the Backlands was shattered by the sounds of heavy trudging and exhausted growls. The Desert Lionesses were inwardly relieved to arrive back at the towering cave that they call home, most of them desperate to tend to the countless cuts and wounds that covered their battered bodies, which were a result of the violent skirmish between them and the Pridelanders and the animals of Mukuni Woods just minutes ago.

While the rest of the Lionesses went straight into their lair to tend to their injuries, two particular Lionesses decided to confront their leader in search of answers to several obvious questions that urgently needed a resolution as quickly as possible.

"Akina, can we have a word with you for a minute?"

The leader of the Desert Pride let out a soft growl below hearing range in annoyance when Upesi and Kulinda, her most trusted Pridesisters and unofficial sidekicks, turned around and blocked her path just in front of the cave's opening, yet she was still able to remain calm and retain her composure, as if she was already expecting them to confront her all this while.

"Make it quick, then," She replied, sitting on her haunches and narrowing her gaze, waiting to see what her Pridesisters had to say.

Upesi, the oldest amongst them decided to be very frank with her, "Akina, our entire pride fought bravely today and almost all of us are half-dead as a result. We fought on your side because we wanted to bring justice to your brother by getting back at your mate and, at the same time, help you get your son back. Yet we came back home without your son and Kopa is still well and alive in the Pridelands. Please tell us that you're not really going to the meeting tomorrow just to negotiate with Simba. We'll all end up losing to him, and the injuries that we suffered today would just be for nothing then."

Akina pursed her lips as she nodded in acknowledgment, apparently agreeing with what Upesi has said. "You're right about us losing to Simba if we go to the truce meeting tomorrow without coming out with a plan. But, you're very wrong when you said that we came back home empty-handed."

Kulinda and Upesi exchanged a glance with each other before focusing back on their leader. "Well, we did come back almost half-dead and covered in cuts and bruises if that's what you meant," Upesi sneered, taking the opportunity to make a light-hearted comment that even forced Kulinda to stifle a chuckle.

Surprisingly, even Akina cracked a smile at her Pridesister's humour, though she was inwardly dismayed that the older Lioness failed to see her point. "Upesi, as you said earlier, we have two separate agendas when we broke into the Pridelands today. Unfortunately for us, we now know that Kopa is already untouchable as he has Simba's pride on his side and those Mukuni Woods' animals who are willing to do anything to protect him from us. There's no way we can get to him, I have to accept that. But, just because we can't achieve one agenda, that doesn't mean we have to forego the other one."

Kulinda raised a brow, still confused and trying to piece together the point her leader was getting at.

"Let me ask you two," Akina continued. "Who did Simba bring along when he decided to show up just when we were about to get to Kopa?"

"His Lionesses."

"And the Lion Guard..."

Upesi and Kulinda answered, both of them slowly realizing the point that Akina was conveying.

"Yes, anytime that old goat decides to stick his nose into a risky situation, his Guards and Lionesses will have to escort him, as we've seen just now..." their leader explained further.

"So that leaves only one or two of his Lionesses looking after your son then once they leave Pride Rock," Kulinda interrupted, finally understanding the plan Akina had all along.

Akina smiled and gave her a nod. "Yes, that's right. Tomorrow, the meeting will be at the borders... and Simba has already said that he'll be there."

She turned and faced Upesi, who was smirking to herself, as she had already anticipated her leader's next commands. "I'll talk to three of my girls, then. The four of us will get your son back." The old Lioness gave Akina an acknowledging nod before walking into their cave.

"Kulinda, tell the others to get enough rest for tonight. Tomorrow at dawn, I'll brief everyone on my plans for the meeting."

"Affirmative," Her subordinate solemnly responded before walking after Upesi into the cave where the other Lionesses were busy attending to their injuries.

The leader of the Desert Pride was once again left alone just outside the cave. She turned around and faced towards the direction of the Border where the silhouette of Pride Rock could be seen far out in the distance beyond it. "You'll regret crossing me and my brother, Kopa..." Akina seethed between her bared fangs. "I'll show you what it's like to lose everything..."

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Meanwhile, over at the Northern part of the Backlands, Kito and Lema were having their own discussions on the outskirts of the Mukuni Woods, just a few feet before the Pridelands-Backlands Border. Their discussions were joined by Askari; a tough, no-nonsense spotted Leopard who was an expert of tactical warfare, just the animal Kito wanted to see.

"There's no way we could have any form of advantage whatsoever if tomorrow's meeting is at the Border," Askari informed them. "It's all bare lands there, there's no place where we can hide a few of our animals to keep an eye on the meet. If anything happens, we have no choice but to face those Pridelanders and Desert Lionesses head-on, like what happened today."

Kito frowned at the thought of having to face another battle with those two group of adversaries. He glanced over to the Border in the distance, the barren patch of land sprawled endlessly towards the Pridelands with the dim moonlight illuminating over it, revealing that indeed, there wasn't a single stone structure, growth or even any signs of life. In a way, it gave some sort of assurance to any group of animals meeting there that there is no chance of an ambush or the possibility of being spied on during the meet, though those assurances appeared to be a heavy disadvantage for Kito.

"How about our own animals?" The Klipspringer asked.

Askari hesitated. "Well... we do have a slight advantage over the others in terms of numbers... but, almost all of us are heavily injured after today's brawl... and that includes me."

He paused for a moment and winced when a sharp, stinging pain throbbed in his lower abdomen where a Lioness had previously bit a chunk of his flesh during the skirmish, causing the fur and the area around it to be dripping with his own blood. "Anyways... I uh, I was saying... we may have a bigger army than those other two, but you have to remember, those two groups consists entirely of Lions, while our army consists of mostly smaller animals. Now... us Leopards could put up a good fight with those Lions, but... I can't really say about the smaller animals..."

"So you're saying if anything happens, we will be the first ones to get wiped out?" Kito asked. His question was answered by a single, regretful nod from Askari. The Klipspringer let out a disappointed groan at how the entire situation had placed him at a disadvantage.

"Maybe we shouldn't face off against all of those two other groups, then," Lema finally spoke after keeping quiet since the start of the discussion.

Kito turned and raised a sharp brow at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, instead of going against both the Pridelanders and the Desert Lionesses, maybe we can join sides with one of them and make it two against one. I was thinking that given the circumstances, we could team up with Simba and his-"

"Simba?! Why in the savanna would you wanna team up with Simba?!" Kito blurted out and grimacing at the Leopard, though Lema appeared completely unfazed by this.

"Two reasons; one is because most of the animals on our side are all half-dead after what happened today and would most likely be killed tomorrow if another battle breaks out tomorrow, and two; Simba is more sensible and has the same objective as us, we both wanna protect Kopa whereas Akina and her Lionesses just want to kill him and anyone who tries to stop her. It only makes sense for us to team up with Simba and face-off with the Desert Pride together!" Lema explained, keeping as patient as possible.

"No! You're wrong 'cause we ain't on the same page with Simba! We-"

"How so?"

For once, the tough-talking Klipspringer was slightly taken aback by Lema's uncharacteristically grim voice when he spoke those two words.

"Because... I- I don't just plan of keeping Kopa safe tomorrow. I plan on bringing him back home with us."

This time it was Lema's turn to be taken by surprise. He and Askari exchanged confused glances, as they both know that Kito's intention was already nothing short of impossible at this point.

"You know that's not going to happen. Simba's already taken him back to his pride. Kopa's with his family now," Lema told him, in a calm but firm tone.

"His family, is us! His family is you, me and everyone else in the Mukuni Woods! We took him in as a cub! You and I raised him for crying out loud! What's wrong with you, Lema? I don't care what you say, he's coming back with us!" the Klipspringer interjected, still adamant with his plans for Kopa.

The younger Leopard shook his head and slowly asked him, "Kito... have you ever wondered... what if Kopa doesn't want to go back to us? Think about it; why didn't he come to tell us he's been in the Pridelands during the last few days he disappeared himself? Why didn't he insist in coming back with us earlier this evening if he really wanted to be with us? As difficult it is for me to say it, but I think Kopa has already made the Pridelands his home now. And his own kid is living there as well! I don't see any reason why he'd want to come and live with us anymore."

Lema's bluntness seemed to have momentarily stunned the hard-headed Klipspringer, as he stood there stupefied for a few moments to digest what the Leopard had said before shaking his head and putting on the same stubborn look.

"No, I know Kopa... and he wouldn't betray us like that..." He insisted, causing Lema to let out an exasperated grunt while Askari remained silent as ever, knowing that he was in no position to interfere.

"That Simba... always messing things up..." Kito muttered, as he started pacing back and forth, deep in thought. "Simba... him and his meddling Lionesses..."

He suddenly came to an abrupt stop as a brainwave had just flew into his head. "Oi, Lema, that night when us and Kopa tried ambushing Kion but ended up being captured and brought to Pride Rock... how many Lionesses were there?"

"Twenty-one, I think," Lema cautiously answered, wondering what Kito was up to.

"Right," the Klipspringer curtly responded before turning to Askari, "You've got a keen sense of sight. How many Lionesses did you see were with Simba earlier this evening?"

Askari frowned, trying to recollect his memory. "Seventeen, I think, including his Queen, Nala. Yeah, I'm pretty sure there were seventeen of them today."

"Yes... now the only question is, where were the other four Lionesses?" He spoke his sentence in a way as if he already knew the answer to his own question.

It didn't take long for Askari to realize this as well. "Wait, ain't you said that Kopa had a kid in Pride Rock? My sixth sense tells me that-"

"NO, NO, NO! No, Kito you cannot go down that road!" Lema blurted out after realizing the Klipspringer's scheme that he'd hatched. "You're only asking for more bloodshed! There's going to be all-out war if you're planning to do what I think you're about to do!"

"Well, there's no other way and it can't be avoided!" Kito yelled back. "If we follow everything Simba says tomorrow, he'll make sure Kopa stays in the Pridelands, we won't get our boy back and most likely Akina and her crazy Lionesses would turn their rage towards us instead! We can't be the losers in all of this, there's no other way!"

"You're wrong, 'cause there is a way, and that is to side with Simba and the Pridelanders, fight off the Desert Lionesses together if necessary, then negotiate with Simba to let Kopa and his cub be with us!" Lema snapped back.

"No, you're the one who's wrong because Simba would never dream of letting Kopa come back to us! He may be Simba's biological son, but we raised him since he was a cub! I don't care what you wanna say, I'm bringing Kopa and his kid back to us!"

A fierce stand-off had ensued between the two, as both Kito and Lema took their stance and actually looked like they were about to pounce on each other while Askari hung back, hoping that he wouldn't be involved if the two started fighting. But after a tensed few seconds, Lema eventually let out a sigh of defeat and relaxed his stance, too tired from the evening's battle to fight his long-time companion.

"You know what, Kito? I'm not going to be a part of this. You want to go ahead with your suicidal mission, then go ahead. But just remember, most of our fighter animals have families... if they get killed, their blood will be on your hooves and you'll have to face their mates and orphaned kids alone." Lema gave the frowning Klipspringer one last glare before limping his way back into the Woods, as Kito and Askari watched him.

"Don't you worry about me, Lema. It's all coming home! Kopa and his kid will be coming home tomorrow and you can thank me for it!"

Lema shook his head as he trudged along and muttered, "I doubt anything or anyone's coming home tomorrow..."

Once the younger Leopard had disappeared into the shadows, Kito turned to the older and slightly wounded Leopard next to him. "Askari, I hope you're not too tired to do me one last favour for tonight."

"Anything for you, Kito," He solemnly replied, though he didn't really mean what he said.

"Find four of your least-injured Leopards and bring them to me here. I have special plans for the five of you..."

Askari nodded. "Understood." He replied, before dashing off towards the Woods himself, staggering slightly as the bite wound in his lower abdomen stung him along the way.

As Kito watch his shadow disappear amongst the trees, he stole a glance towards the other end of the Border where the silhouette of Pride Rock could be seen, smiling to himself as he eyed the shadows of the rock formation.

"They'll be coming home, alright. And there's nothing Simba can do stop me..."

 **End of Chapter 18**

 **A/n: Short chapter, but it's a start after being on hiatus for several months.**


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